The Seattle Seahawks returned to the practice field after taking Wednesday off. Thursday marked the first padded practice of training camp, which means the intensity can ramp up and the feel of real football is getting closer. Fans won’t get a glimpse of padded reps until Friday, so media-only accounts will have to suffice for today.
Let’s go through the notable events from Day 5 of Seahawks training camp!
Seahawks training camp news and notes
Deven Eastern returns to practice
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Seahawks rookie nose tackle Deven Eastern had been largely absent from mandatory minicamp and OTAs due to injury, and started this year on the PUP list. He passed a physical on Thursday and is all good to go, which means just Nick Emmanwori and Zach Charbonnet are still on PUP.
Mike Macdonald: Tyrice Knight having a great training camp
After taking over as a midseason starter as a rookie, Tyrice Knight’s injury issues in 2025 led to some early season struggles before Drake Thomas took over his starting job. The third-year player out of UTEP has started camp well enough for Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald to sing his praises.
“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.”
Mike Macdonald addresses currently injured Seahawks players
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The likes of Jake Bobo and Julian Neal have been absent from recent practices due to injury. It doesn’t sounds like Mike Macdonald is too concerned about any of the injuries.
“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.”
Brandon Pili, Jamie Sheriff, and Jared Ivey were new non-participants on Thursday, and similarly there doesn’t seem to be reason to sound the alarm bells.
“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 attends practice from the sidelines
Seattle’s star defensive back is on the mend after ankle surgery, which is why he’s on PUP. While it’s been reported that it won’t likely be a long-term absence for Emmanwori, Coach Macdonald is playing it close to the vest as far as a timetable for his return.
“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.”
Andre Fuller, Michael Dansby level up in pads
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While Julian Neal did not practice, Seattle’s other two rookie corners did participate. Dansby has raised eyebrows with his ball skills and general performances in 1-on-1s and in team reps. Here’s what Coach Macdonald had to say about their first practice 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 on having running backs more involved as receivers
For the first time during camp, Sam Darnold had a media availability session. The Seahawks’ second-year starting quarterback was asked about his stable of running backs and the benefits of having them as legitimate receiving threats.
“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.”
O-line vs. D-line gets more competitive
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You love to see the give-and-take. And you love to read about both of these things regarding Rylie Mills and Anthony Bradford… especially Mills.
George Holani shows off his pass protection chops
It’s expected that third-year Seahawks running back George Holani will feature more in the offense. One of the reasons? His pass protection.
Some familiar work for Robbie Ouzts
Robbie Ouzts was a tight end in college and a fullback in the NFL. With Brian Fleury as offensive coordinator, I would anticipate Ouzts having more of a role outside of being an I-formation fullback.
As noted earlier, fans return to practice on Friday, July 31 at 1 pm PT.
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Reminder: Field Gulls live at Seahawks training camp!
In just a few days Field Gulls will be on site as part of the Seahawks Syndicate crew, which features myself, Bryce Coutts, Dan Viens, and Brandon Cain (who won’t be attending in-person this year). We’ll be at three practices on Aug. 5, 7, and 8, with live podcasts streaming from Fast Fashion Brewing in SoDo! You’re invited to a special Town Hall style show on Aug. 7 at 7:30 pm. Myself, Bryce, and Josh Hite are among the Field Gulls staff that will be at camp in some capacity during these days. Come hang with us at Fast Fashion and/or meet us at the berm on those two VMAC days.
It’s more fun when we can do our own reports instead of aggregating from others.
