Field Gulls
We’re less than a week away from the first Seattle Seahawks training camp practice. Rookies have already reported as of Friday, with everyone else set to return to Virginia Mason Athletic Center on July 24. The first of 10 public practices will be held on July 25, and don’t bother looking for tickets because that opening session is already sold out.
Having taken a look at roster bubble players last week, our training camp preview continues by focusing on three Seahawks who ended last season on the practice squad but might just have a golden opportunity to go from “ready squad” to the active roster.
As noted in the roster bubble article, there will be a different Seahawks backfield to start the season. Kenneth Walker is elsewhere, Zach Charbonnet is likely going to start on the PUP list, and one of the main backs added to the team is first-round pick Jadarian Price. George Holani and Emanuel Wilson probably are safe bets to join Price on the 53-man roster, but if there’s room for a fourth running back—again, that might only be a necessity for as long as Charbonnet is out—Kenny McIntosh has some company to deal with.
Wright was one of the preseason standouts last season after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Missouri State. He showed good lateral movement and vision during camp and in actual games, and he had a few touches as a practice squad call-up against the New Orleans Saints. An ankle injury shut his season down early, although I suspect he was more or less stashed to avoid getting poached/free up a PS spot.
Falling in love with the UDFA running back or receiver is like a time-honored tradition for Seahawks fans. I’ve no expectations for Wright’s ceiling to be anything other than a good reserve, but this is as good a chance as any for him to stake his claim to at least be on the Week 1 roster.
‘Pooh’ Paul was drafted in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Rams, surprisingly waived at the end of preseason, and promptly scooped up by the Seahawks. Hey, the pain of being let go as a rookie can be eased by having a Super Bowl ring.
We have no actual data on Paul in a Seahawks uniform because, well, he never got on the field. But based on what he showcased at Arkansas and Ole Miss, where he earned second-team All-SEC honors, there is promise and hope that he can do something at an NFL level.
Ernest Jones and Drake Thomas are the starting inside linebackers, so there’s nothing to debate there. The reserves consist of Tyrice Knight, Chazz Surratt and Patrick O’Connell. Surratt is mostly a special teams guy, whereas O’Connell has spent much of his career as a practice squad player.
Unless there is reason to believe Knight has completely fallen out of favor, Paul has a chance to...
