RENTON — Seahawks fans may want to get in their seats early Friday night to make sure they get a glimpse of Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp, Devon Witherspoon and the rest of Seattle’s starters as they may not be on the field long against the Kansas City Chiefs.
But they will at least be on the field some after sitting out the preseason opener against the Raiders last Thursday.
Coach Mike Macdonald reiterated after Wednesday’s practice at the VMAC that the plan is to get most of the starters a little work when the Chiefs come to town for a 7 p.m. game Friday at Lumen Field.
“(There) might be a couple guys that will vary whether they are out there or not,’’ Macdonald said. “Still kind of working through it right now. But yeah, our guys are going to start the game out and we’ll see how long it goes.’’
Only a couple of players who are listed as starters played last Thursday against the Raiders, all on the offensive line or rookies, the latter of whom Macdonald wanted to get some game-like experience.
Macdonald said Darnold, who is taking over as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback following the trade of Geno Smith in March, will make his debut Friday night.
Macdonald said he doesn’t feel as if the Seahawks “need’’ to see Darnold and the No. 1 offense on the field, said “it’s the best thing for us.’’
Macdonald said he also views it as something of a reward for players who have worked hard in camp.
“I’m looking forward to seeing our team go rip it, and then we can kind of move from there,’’ Macdonald said. “These guys have been working their tails off. Talking to guys on the sidelines, it’s hard for them to watch the game and not be a part of it. So I think they are excited to go out there.”
Macdonald said last week he expected Seattle’s starters to play some against the Chiefs, in part because Kansas City coach Andy Reid is a proponent of getting his starters some work in preseason games. Macdonald said it would be a good opportunity for Seattle’s starters to get some work against the Chiefs’ starters.
Reid, though, told reporters in Kansas City on Wednesday he was unsure of the team’s plan, and specifically if quarterback Patrick Mahomes will play.
“I’m still figuring out who’s going to play, not play,” Reid said. “There’s a chance I sit a couple of starters, or at least be short with them. We want to make sure we get a good look at these young guys.”
When he was asked specifically about the quarterback situation, Reid said “Pat would be the one that gets slighted.”
The Chiefs’ backup quarterback is former Washington State standout Gardner Minshew.
Here’s more of what we learned at Seahawks practice Wednesday:
Tempers quickly flare as Macdonald sends message
The Seahawks have had relatively few altercations between players during workouts open to the media and public.
But indicating that it’s getting to the dog days of camp — which officially extends into early next week — tempers flared on a couple occasions Wednesday.
One came during a team drill when a running play led to a mass of bodies in the middle of the field, some brief words and players on both offense and defense rushing in.
Tempers were quickly defused, however, with a few players throwing some joking punches at each other as all headed back to their spots.
Another came during a pass-rush drill when rookie nose tackle J.R. Singleton and rookie offensive lineman Mason Richman kept going after the play appeared to be dead, with Richman then pulling Singleton’s helmet off his head as other players rushed in.
Again, the matter was defused quickly and the drill ended a few minutes later with the regular huddle of all the linemen.
Macdonald also got on the defense earlier in practice, once loudly noting an assignment error.
Macdonald said after practice he reminded the players that “as soon as we sense they are stepping off the gas at all, it’s our job as coaches to remind them of the team and the players that they want to be.’’
Macdonald, though, said a few lapses are inevitable during a lengthy training camp and that, overall, “our guys have been great. You tell them to jump and they ask how far. They’ve been tremendous.’’
Center Oluwatimi again sits out
Center Olu Oluwatimi again sat out of practice Wednesday while dealing with a back injury that also held him out against the Raiders. Oluwatimi has not practiced since Saturday, with Jalen Sundell taking all of the reps at center with the first-team offense.
Macdonald again indicated the issue with Oluwatimi is not serious, saying “he’s good. He’s just progressing, but he’s coming along. Can’t give you a day (when he’ll return) but should be soon.’’
Still, that seems to indicate that Sundell will again get the start against the Chiefs and a chance to further stake his claim as the starter heading into the regular season.
Rookie undrafted free agent Federico Maranges has worked as the second-team center this week while the Seahawks have begun using Richman extensively at center, mostly with the third team.
Second-year player Christian Haynes took some reps at center for a week or so earlier in camp, but hasn’t during team drills for a few days, working solely at guard.
It’s unclear if using Richman at center marks a change in his long-term position, or if he’s just being used there now to fill out the depth — the seventh-round pick out of Iowa has played mostly guard in camp.
Macdonald said only there are “multiple reasons on why we are training him at center right now, but we’ll get into those later.”
NOTES
• Rookie outside linebacker Jalan Gaines left late in practice with a hand injury, and Macdonald said he will need to get some imaging to determine the extent of the injury.
• Left tackle Charles Cross, who had finger surgery earlier in camp, again got significant early work but did not take any snaps during team drills, with Josh Jones again taking over as the starter at left tackle in his absence.
• Snapper Chris Stoll remains sidelined with a back injury. Macdonald said “he’s coming along’’ and that he should return “sooner than later, hopefully.’’ But that seems to indicate that veteran Zach Triner, signed last week once Stoll was sidelined, will snap against the Chiefs.
• Quarterback Drew Lock threw an interception on a pass over the middle to Dareke Young that was tipped by D’Anthony Bell and intercepted by Nehemiah Pritchett.
• Darnold threw one of his best passes of camp when he hit rookie Tory Horton for a long completion on a go route after Horton got a step on Riq Woolen.
• Quarterback Jalen Milroe threw an interception when he threw into traffic to Tyrone Broden. Jerrick Reed II tipped the pass and rookie Isas Waxter picked it off. But Milroe got some revenge when he connected with rookie Ricky White III for a touchdown on the final play of the day.
