Seahawks Training Camp 2018: News and notes from day 9

The Seattle Seahawks returned to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Monday, following a day off on Sunday.

Monday’s practice comes on the heels off the team’s annual mock game on Saturday, and officially kicks off the first game week of the 2018 season for the Seahawks. The training wheels are off and preseason preparations are about to be ramped up.

Seattle began the day with more roster news ahead of Monday’s practice, as fullback Khalid Hill was waived with an injury designation, while defensive tackle Lord Adusei-Hyeamang was waived after just two days on the roster. Hill and Adusei-Hyeamang were waived to make room for tight end Je’Ron Hamm and defensive tackle Joey Ivie.

Elsewhere on the roster, cornerback Dontae Johnson practiced with the team for the first time on Monday, after starting training camp on the PUP list as he recovered from a broken foot. A roster spot won’t need to be opened up as Johnson already counted towards the 90-man roster.

While Johnson returned to practice, Dion Jordan, Ed Dickson and Clayton Wilson remained on the PUP list. Additionally, Frank Clark remains limited and Doug Baldwin remains out.

Practice Notes

• As Johnson returned from a long-term injury, Monday’s practice saw the end of several short-term absences, as well. Tom Johnson returned after missing the second half of last week with a groin injury; Justin Britt returned after tweaking his back in warm ups on Saturday and missing the mock game; Marcus Smith returned from a several day absence; and Shaquill Griffin returned to practice after also missing Saturday’s mock game.
• Although the Seahawks got a host players back on Monday, there were multiple players who remained on the sidelines. J.R. Sweezy missed practice for a third consecutive day, only suiting up in his first day back in Seattle, on Thursday. K.J. Wright missed a second day of practice with a groin injury, and Shaquem Griffin lined up with the first team in his place. Maurice Alexander remained out with a hip flexor injury. Fullback Jalston Fowler’s status on Monday was unclear, after getting injured last week and sitting out three days of practice.
• With Alexander out again on Monday, the secondary remained the same as the end of last week, prior to Saturday’s mock game: Byron Maxwell and Griffin at the right and left cornerback spots, Tedric Thompson at free safety and Bradley McDougald at strong safety.
• As Seattle’s group of edge rushers remain depleted by injuries, Rasheem Green and Barkevious Mingo continued to see snaps with the first team. In nickel packages, Branden Jackson reduced inside and aligned at 3-technique — something that began last week, and adds an interesting wrinkle in his bid to make the 53-man roster.
• Perhaps the biggest piece of news coming out of the Seahawks’ mock game on Saturday was Germain Ifedi committing two penalties on the same drive, before being pulled by Carroll. Ifedi’s errors on Saturday were enough to have him removed from the first team offense for the remainder of the day, but it didn’t extend into Monday’s practice. Ifedi remained the first team right tackle, however rookie Jamarco Jones moved across to the right for the first time, adding competition to Ifedi’s side.
• Finally, receivers Jaron Brown and Brandon Marshall carried their form from last week’s practices and mock game into Monday, lining up as the starting receivers. Brown has been showered with praise throughout camp, while Marshall finally began practicing and has started out his push to make Seattle’s roster in fine form.

Will Dissly’s Press Conference

• A singular-focused Will Dissly had his press conference begin with a question about the difference between his expectations coming into camp, and reality: “From a rookie perspective, OTAs was just kind of getting my feet wet. Now my feet are underneath (me) and so we’re just taking it stride-by-stride. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but definitely competing every day and it’s been a lot of fun.”
• Dissly was then asked if it’s a bigger opportunity than he expected to have: “I was just told to compete. That’s kind of the whole thing about the Seahawks — come in and compete. You work really hard and things can happen.”
• On how it felt to put on pads on Saturday (in the mock game): “It’s been since January, since I put pads on, so that felt good. First pop was something special, but it’s back to football and everyone’s working really hard, everyone’s growing, so that was awesome.”
• Asked about his expectations for Thursday night and his home debut: “I’ve only ever practiced at CenturyLink. I’ve never been to a game so I can only imagine what the 12s are like, so I’m excited to experience that. As far as expectations go in the game, we’re just looking to go out and compete, beat the guy across from you, and hopefully we come out on top.”
• Finally, Dissly was asked about going up against Shaquem Griffin: “Shaquem is fast, man. That 40 was no joke. He’s a special player. One thing I appreciate about him is he’s always coming with a positive attitude. This whole thing is all about energy. Camp gets long and hard, and you see him over there and he’s got a big smile on his face.”

Jaron Brown’s Press Conference

• Brown’s press conference began with a question about how Brown would describe the offense: “I think we are explosive. We have a chance to be real explosive. It’s going to be a real physical offense, we’re going to run the ball this year, but at the same time we’re going to be explosive downfield.”
• Brown was asked about his relationship with Russell Wilson, and how it has grown: “Just with repetition. We’re coming out here every day, and we’re working. Me and him have been working since before OTAs, so it’s just developing that chemistry is really key and trying to see the game through his eyes.”
• Finally, Brown on why he chose Seattle: “Why not Seattle? It was a winning culture, one of my first visits happened to be here and I was just blown away by the facilities and the coaches, and the players.” It was then followed up with a question on Brown’s feelings for the team during his time with the Arizona Cardinals: “I hated Seattle. It’s a tough stadium to play in, obviously the 12s take credit for that, but yeah, it was always a very competitive game.”

The Seahawks return to practice on Tuesday morning, at 10:10 AM.