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.
Jacardia Wright, Running Back
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.
Chris Paul Jr, Inside Linebacker
‘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 sneak in as Seattle’s fourth off-ball backer.
Jamie Sheriff, Outside Linebacker
The Sheriff has been in town for a couple of years, playing on special teams in his two career appearances. He flashed as a promising edge rushing talent during 2024 preseason, so much so that the Carolina Panthers gave him a look after Seattle waived him. Sheriff was let go shortly after Week 1 of his rookie campaign and has remained with the Seahawks ever since.
There was talk last year about Sheriff working with the off-ball linebackers, but everything I saw at training camp indicated that he was doing a hell of a lot of work at the line of scrimmage. If there was an effort to at least make him a hybrid backer, it didn’t really take off through preseason.
Sheriff’s best ability is getting after the quarterback. Boye Mafe’s departure is effectively offset by the signing of Dante Fowler Jr, but after Messrs Nwosu, Lawrence, Hall, and Fowler, it’s up for grabs in terms of a fifth (or even sixth) edge rusher. Jared Ivey is one of those bigger edge players who could sooner move positions than anything else, Connor O’Toole will be in the mix after a special teams-heavy workload last season, Aidan Hubbard and Marvin Jones Jr are intriguing UDFA rookies, so there’s quite a bit of competition to face.
Jamie Sheriff has been an easy story to root for, so it would be nice for him to make a splash in camp and preseason and really stake a claim for a promotion to the 53.
Honorable Mention: Tyrone Broden, Cornerback
Switching from wide receiver to cornerback is nothing new, especially not to the Seahawks. None of the previous converts was 6’7 like Tyrone Broden. Is it likely to work out? Almost certainly not. Will it at least be interesting to watch? Sure!
Our next preview will look at the (small) UDFA class and assessing whether or not they have any chance of cracking the 53-man roster!
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