SEATTLE -- The Seattle Seahawks' 2025 training camp runs from July 23 to Aug. 12 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton, Wash.
Around this time last year, quarterback Geno Smith was stewing behind the scenes over his contract, having been rebuffed in his efforts to secure an extension. DK Metcalf had been unhappy as well that offseason to the point that he requested a trade, one of several times the star receiver asked out of Seattle in recent years.
The trades that sent Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders and Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers in March not only continued the offseason transformation of Seattle's offense, which began with the firing of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and the hiring of Klint Kubiak as his replacement. They also kicked off a locker room reset that general manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald hope will help in their efforts to establish a more team-first mentality.
The early-offseason turbulence has given way to four-plus months of smooth air, and the Seahawks have been enjoying the absence of drama. They avoided a disruption by getting second-round picks Nick Emmanwori and Elijah Arroyo both signed last week, assuring neither will miss a single practice for contract-related reasons.
A handful of veterans are eligible for extensions, including left tackle Charles Cross, safety Coby Bryant and several other members of their 2022 draft class. If all of them continue to practice during the spring -- and especially if some of them get rewarded with new deals -- then the good vibes at Seahawks headquarters will roll on.
Here's a closer look at what we are watching at camp -- and a 53-man roster projection:
How quickly can Sam Darnold and the revamped offense come together?
Macdonald's defense returns almost every key player from last season, when Seattle finished ninth in points allowed. But the offense is on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to continuity. The Seahawks signed Sam Darnold to replace Smith and receivers Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to replace Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
First-round pick Grey Zabel will take over for Laken Tomlinson at left guard, and assuming second-round pick Elijah Arroyo steps into the No. 1 tight end role following Noah Fant's release, that will make five new starters on offense who weren't with Seattle last season (the same will be true at fullback if rookie Robbie Ouzts wins the job). All that is in addition to a new coordinator in Kubiak, whose overhauled unit will have to gel quickly in training camp if wants to hit the ground running come September.
Three players to watch:
Darnold. Players don't necessarily pick up where they left off even when most things around them remain the same. The Seahawks are hoping that Darnold -- who held a 21-34 record as a starter before his Pro Bowl breakthrough last year in Minnesota -- can replicate his 2024 success. He'll need Kubiak to reach him the same way Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell did, and he'll need to play on time to in order to avoid a repeat of his disastrous finish to last season.
Kupp. The Seahawks saved a significant amount of money by moving on from Metcalf and Lockett, but their receiver corps didn't get any younger by replacing them with Kupp (32) and Valdes-Scantling (30). Whether or not it got better will depend largely on Kupp's ability to stay healthy. Since his Triple Crown and Super Bowl MVP season of 2021, he's missed 18 of a possible 51 games due to injury, leading to his release by the Rams.
Arroyo. The Seahawks released Fant on Sunday in large part because his production hasn't justified the $9 million he was set to make in 2025. That writing was on the wall to some degree after they spent a second-round pick on Arroyo, a player with a similar mix of size and speed. But Schneider and Macdonald wouldn't have moved on from Fant if they weren't confident that Arroyo and second-year tight end AJ Barner were ready to fill the void. Now they have to prove the team right. Keep an eye on the Seahawks using some of the $9 million they saved with Fant's release to bolster the edge of their defense, with Uchenna Nwosu coming off knee surgery that has his availability for the start of the season in question.
Key position battles
Running back. No one with the Seahawks has said that the RB1 job is up for grabs, and there's no real indication that it is. But nothing seems certain in Seattle's backfield considering the new coordinator, Walker's injury history and Zach Charbonnet's emergence last season in his absence. Charbonnet doesn't have Walker's breakaway speed, but the Seahawks love his reliability, and his disciplined rushing style could fit well in Kubiak's outside zone scheme. If nothing else, he should at least have the opportunity to cut into Walker's workload as the primary back. Walker has missed 10 games in three seasons and was sidelined again during the spring with a minor ankle injury.
Right guard. The Seahawks almost certainly won't repeat the unusual approach they took last year at right guard, when they resorted to a rotation for much of the season in the absence of anyone claiming the job outright. But it's anyone's guess as to who will win it this year. Anthony Bradford, who was uneven in 11 starts before his season ended due to an ankle injury, took most of the first-team reps in the spring. Christian Haynes worked in with him, as he did last season. Sataoa Laumea figures to enter the competition after starting the final six games. Bradford, a 335-pound mauler, didn't seem like an idea fit for Kubiak's outsize zone scheme, but Macdonald noted that he improved his body composition over the offseason. At center, incumbent starter Olu Oluwatimi will have to hold off Jalen Sundell.
Third cornerback. The Seahawks brought back Shaquill Griffin in June, reuniting with the 30-year-old cornerback on a one-year, $3 million deal. That salary suggests he's competing with Josh Jobe to fill the No. 3 role behind Pro Bowlers Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen. Seattle had eyed cornerbacks in the draft but didn't take one because the board never aligned. While Jalen Ramsey and Jaire Alexander were available as free agents, neither seemed like idea fits for the drama-free, team-first culture Macdonald and Schneider want. So Griffin, who spent his first four seasons in Seattle, was the choice.
Keep an eye on: Rookie QB Jalen Milroe
The Seahawks' 2022-24 draft classes produced over a dozen starters and two stars in Witherspoon and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Their most recent draft class has a chance to follow suit, with the top four picks all in position to make an impact in Year 1. Zabel -- the interior offensive lineman the Seahawks rated the highest going into the draft -- will start at left guard. Emmanwori figures to play extensively at the second level in sub packages. Arroyo will push for the TE1 job.
Milroe, a third-round pick, should find his way onto the field as well, even as the third quarterback behind Darnold and Drew Lock. Milroe isn't going to push Darnold for the starting job anytime soon, but the Seahawks do plan to use him a handful of snaps a game in packages that take advantage of his stellar running ability. Spring practices didn't offer much of a glimpse of that as the Seahawks focused on installing their base offense, but that should change during camp.
53-man roster projection
QB (3): Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Jalen Milroe
RB (4): Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, Robbie Ouzts, Damien Martinez
TE (4): Elijah Arroyo, AJ Barner, Eric Saubert, Brady Russell
WR (5): Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Tory Horton, Steven Sims
OL (10): Charles Cross, Grey Zabel, Olu Oluwatimi, Anthony Bradford, Abraham Lucas, Josh Jones, Jalen Sundell, Christian Haynes, Sataoa Laumea, Bryce Cabeldue
IDL (5): Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Johnathan Hankins, Byron Murphy II, Brandon Pili
OLB (5): DeMarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, and a player not currently on the roster
ILB (4): Ernest Jones IV, Tyrice Knight, Drake Thomas, Patrick O'Connell
CB (5): Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Shaquill Griffin, Josh Jobe, Shemar Jean-Charles
S (5): Julian Love, Coby Bryant, Nick Emmanwori, D'Anthony Bell, Ty Okada
Special teams (3): Michael Dickson, Jason Myers, Chris Stoll