The Seattle Seahawks were back on the field Thursday after a day off, and the first padded practice of training camp brought a little more heat to Day 5. Fans still had to wait until Friday to see the padded work in person, but there was plenty to sort through from the media viewing window.
One of the biggest developments was the return of rookie nose tackle Deven Eastern. Eastern had missed much of mandatory minicamp and OTAs because of injury and opened the year on the PUP list, but he passed a physical Thursday and is now cleared. That leaves just Nick Emmanwori and Zach Charbonnet on PUP.
Mike Macdonald also had strong words for Tyrice Knight, who has put together a solid camp after a rocky 2025 season. Knight had taken over as a midseason starter as a rookie, but injuries and early struggles opened the door for Drake Thomas to claim the job. Macdonald said Knight is making his case again.
“Tyrice has had a great camp. He really has.
He’s done a great job. There’s ways to get him out there.
That’s a great example of how you don’t need to be counting the people ahead of you and where do I stand in depth chart and all this. Just put my best foot forward and let us figure out how to get you on the field.
Put that burden on the coaches to make sure that we got the best guys out there. He’s definitely applying pressure right now, which is really great.”
Macdonald wasn’t sounding alarms on the injury front, either. Jake Bobo and Julian Neal have missed recent practices, but the coach said those issues are not long term.
“Nothing long term. Just a couple of things they’re working through, camp type of stuff. It’s a bummer, but we will get them back soon.”
Thursday also brought new non-participants in Brandon Pili, Jamie Sheriff, and Jared Ivey, though Macdonald gave the same general message there.
“Well, they’re dealing with some things. Some training camp things, but they’ll be back. Nothing crazy going on right now, just some training camp stuff.”
Nick Emmanwori was present on the sideline as he works back from ankle surgery. He remains on PUP, and Macdonald declined to put a timetable on his return while stressing the progress Emmanwori has made.
“He’s in an adverse situation. He’s attacking it.
That’s all you can ask him to do. He’s made a lot of progress, which is exciting.
It’s one of these things where you don’t want to put a timetable on it because you don’t want to limit him but just go rip it every day. We got great people surrounded by him and let’s go see where we get.
He’s returned so far. He’s done a great job.
It’s not going to be easy, but he’s just the man for the job.”
Seattle’s rookie corners got their first padded work as well. Andre Fuller and Michael Dansby both practiced, while Julian Neal sat out. Dansby has already turned heads with his ball skills and what he’s shown in one-on-ones and team periods, and Macdonald liked what he saw from the pair in pads.
“To see them make plays, playing football, it’s great. It’s an indication of the work they have put in.
They’ve done a great job up to this point. They’re rookies, so they are swimming a little bit schematically, but that’s as expected, and they just got to kind of work through the fog until we start making plays, like today, and gain more confidence and just keep rolling.”
Sam Darnold spoke to reporters for the first time this camp and was asked about the value of having running backs who can be real receiving threats. He said it changes the picture for the defense and can create mismatches, especially when backs are matched with linebackers.
“I think it helps the quarterback a ton because it does present a different problem for the defense. Sometimes the defense assumes, especially on third down, that the running back’s going to stay in and protect so they can build their pressures off of that.
But when you’re getting five guys out on a route and you’re in scat protection, sometimes you’ve got to throw hot, and the defense is going to make it hot. If you get the protections right, you’re not hot, and the running back’s out on a route, sometimes that’s a mismatch with a linebacker, especially with a guy like [Jadarian Price] or George [Holani].
We’ve got a ton of backs in the backfield this year that can make linebackers and safeties miss. So, it’s going to be really fun to see what those guys can do coming out of the backfield.”
Holani is expected to have a bigger role in the offense, and his pass protection is one reason why.
Robbie Ouzts also continued in a familiar role. He was a tight end in college and a fullback in the NFL, and with Brian Fleury as offensive coordinator, he could have a role beyond simply lining up as an I-formation fullback.
Fans will get their first look at practice on Friday, July 31 at 1 pm PT.
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