Notes and quotes from Pete Carroll as Seahawks begin OTAs

RENTON – The Seahawks held their first Organized Team Activity (OTA) of the offseason on Tuesday with a few notable absences, some new faces and a handful of players whose recoveries from injuries left them relegated to spectators.

Coach Pete Carroll met with the media afterward and passed along some noteworthy personnel information that is included below.

Roll call. Players aren’t contractually required to attend OTAs, something Carroll mentioned when he was asked about the absences of defensive lineman Michael Bennett and linebacker Bruce Irvin. Running back Marshawn Lynch was also absent as he has been for this portion of the offseason in years past. Quarterback Russell Wilson is accompanying tight end Jimmy Graham at the funeral of his mentor, then may visit defensive end Cliff Avril, whose father recently passed away. The other notable absences involved players recovering from injuries.

Injury updates. Carroll said the team expects most of its players who are recovering from injuries to be back by training camp. That group includes free safety Earl Thomas (shoulder), nose tackle Brandon Mebane (hamstring), running back Robert Turbin (hip), and cornerback Tharold Simon (shoulder). It even includes cornerback Jeremy Lane, who tore his ACL and suffered a badly broken arm in the Super Bowl. Carroll said Lane has experienced a setback with his arm but that he nonetheless should be ready for training camp. “Jeremy Lane has had another concern come up in his arm and they’re going to stay with it,” Carroll said. “His knee’s doing great. His arm is going to take a little longer than we thought to heal so there’s some stuff they’re doing to take care of him, but he should be ready for camp. That’s the thought.” Carroll said wide receiver Paul Richardson has a chance to return by camp as well but that the team will be careful not to push him. Richardson tore his ACL in the divisional round of the playoffs. “We just want to make sure that we get him back. Same with Jeremy,” Carroll said. “Paul has a little advantage over him – he’s been through it before so we’ll see if that helps. But we just have to see how the guys progress through the workload as it increases.” Participating at some point – and to some degree – in training camp doesn’t necessarily mean a player will be ready by the start of the regular season, something that should be noted given the timing of the injuries that Lane and Richardson suffered. Wide receivers Chris Matthews and Kevin Norwood didn’t practice on Tuesday but Carroll said they could practice as early as Wednesday. Defensive tackle Tony McDaniel also didn’t practice Tuesday but Carroll said his health isn’t a concern.

Who was where. If Tuesday’s practice was any indication, Lemuel Jeanpierre and Alvin Bailey are the favorites to assume the two vacant starting roles along Seattle’s offensive line. Jeanpierre took first-team reps at center while Bailey was at left guard. Carroll noted again how Bailey has lost a significant amount of weight this offseason, calling that a statement about how he’s approaching his opportunity to assume a starting role. Of Jeanpierre working as the No. 1 center over Patrick Lewis, Carroll said: “I think we start off just based on experience. He’s been around, he’s played in a lot of games for us and done well. He helps other guys play well. He’s the best-versed in our system and all of that and he’s taken a real leadership role there with the young guys.” DeShawn Shead took first-team reps at free safety for Thomas, Will Blackmon was at nickelback for Lane and Mike Morgan was at strong-side linebacker for Irvin. Christine Michael took the majority of the backfield reps with Lynch and Turbin both absent.

Here are a few more quotes from Carroll:

(On how new defensive coordinator Kris Richard is settling in) “Well, I’m pretty pumped up about the job Kris has done so far. He’s felt very comfortable with the transition, he’s been very strong with his thoughts and his addition to always moving ahead and trying to get better. I think he and Rocky (Seto) are a great team. These guys have been together a really long time and they see eye to eye on everything and I think they’re giving great leadership to the defensive side where we’ve obviously lost some leaders over the years – past coordinators. They’ve really jumped at the cause. It’s been fun to watch. Guys are flying around and I expect nothing but us getting better.”

(On what he’s seen out of new cornerback Cary Williams) “Cary’s doing everything. He looks very much the part of the kinds of play that we anticipated on his first day against somebody today. But still, he gets it, he’s smart, he’s really dedicated, he hasn’t missed a trick. He’s been on everything. He’s assuming the responsibility of trying to take over that position on a defense that he seems to be proud to be part of, too. We’re off to a really good start. It’s early and all that but I anticipate he’s going to play like we saw on film, if not better. That would be good enough to help us play winning football.”

(On strong safety Kam Chancellor saying the team has seemed hungrier this offseason after the Super Bowl loss) “I feel it, too. I felt it right since the first days that the guys came back. Each year we challenge ourselves to put together the best offseason we can put together. It starts with the individual and then the guys bring that to their position groups and then to the team. We’ve had no exception to that. We’ve had great work and the attitude has been on it. That’s all we could ask for. It’s been five weeks now coming to this point and you see the result today. We went out and practiced and ran around and guys knew what they’re doing and flying around, communicating well and we’re off and running. It’s exactly the kind of tempo we anticipate seeing if we’re on it. So that’s a credit to all the work these guys have put forth so far.”