Seahawks snap counts against Raiders

August is already halfway over, meaning the 2021 NFL season is inching closer and the road trip on which the Seattle Seahawks will play the Indianapolis Colts on September 12 will be here before you know it. In the time between now and when there is football that is actually meaningful to the standings, fans will have to make due with the final two preseason games against the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers.

How much the starters play in those two contests will be interesting to watch, as it is entirely possible the team will rest starters in both games, giving an extended opportunity for younger players to show what they can do and put that on tape. Many teams across the league have completely stopped playing starters during the preseason, and on Saturday Seahawks fans will find out if that is something that Shane Waldron and Andy Dickerson brought with them from the Los Angeles Rams.

If that proves to be the case, fans could see those same backups on the field for extended playing time in both of the remaining preseason games. That may not be what fans want, but don’t be surprised if the snap counts from the Saturday matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders turn out to be similar for each of the next two games.

One of the most interesting position groups for the preseason is the offensive line, where the Seahawks pulled out Tom Cable’s playbook and opted for all youth up front. The starters on the offensive line for the game were:

• LT: Stone Forsythe
• LG: Jordan Simmons
• C: Kyle Fuller
• RG: Phil Haynes
• RT: Jake Curhan

Those five linemen have a combined 1,012 career regular season NFL snaps of experience, with Simmons and Fuller accounting for 1,011 of those snaps. The results were predictable, with Geno Smith leaving the game due to injury and Alex McGough steadily facing pressure when dropping back. Rookie undrafted free agent Curhan was the only player to see the field for all 47 offensive snaps with 35 of those coming at right tackle and the rest at guard when he slid inside on the final drives of the game.

In any case, there appears to be a clear division in playing time between those the coaching staff was able to see in action in 2020, with Fuller, along with wide receivers Freddie Swain, DeeJay Dallas, Cody Thompson and Aaron Fuller seeing similar usage. In contrast, the rookies the coaches did not have the chance to see in practice last season, such as Connor Wedington, Cade Johnson, Travis Toivonen and the likes saw extended playing time in the second half.

Now it’s simply a matter of waiting until Saturday to see how these get adjusted against the Broncos after the team has made the mandatory cut to 85 players Tuesday.