Clayton’s Takeaways: Seahawks healthier than expected as practices begin

The news from the Seahawks’ first practice in helmets was good but with one exception.

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Tight end Will Dissly didn’t start camp on the physically unable to perform list and was on the field for his first practice of the season. Pete Carroll said linebacker K.J. Wright had a marvelous recovery from shoulder surgery and passed his physical and he practiced Wednesday. Wide receiver John Ursua had a false positive Covid-19 test and has been cleared to practice.

The bad news involved a former Seahawks coach. Howard Mudd passed away Wednesday from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident. Mudd is considered one of the greatest offensive line coaches in NFL history.

He did an incredible job developing offensive linemen for the Seahawks from 1978 to 1982 and from 1993 to 1997. Mudd passed away at the age of 78.

Our deepest sympathies are extended to Coach Mudd's family and friends. pic.twitter.com/01JftDkxPe

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 12, 2020

There are no fans allowed to watch Seahawks practice because of the virus, but I still remember a training camp practice where I sat on the side of the field watching the entire practice with Howard. It was incredibly educational.

Mudd told me about the offensive line coaching transition from Tom Cable to Mike Solari. Mudd was a big fan of Solari. He discussed how Solari loved coaching big, physical linemen and how he has always put together top running offenses.

He spoke about Solari’s attention to detail. I’ve watched Solari closely and noted everything that Mudd said was correct.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame just approved a head coaching category for the next four years. This would allow voters to catch up on head coaches such as Mike Holmgren, Tom Flores, Don Coryell and others.

Once the Hall catches up on head coaches, Mudd would be looked at as one of the potential Hall of Fame assistants. Howard Mudd will be missed.

Back to the Seahawks, the first ramped-up practiced had some interesting things to note. Marquise Blair reportedly lined up with the first team nickel, showing the team is thinking of ways to get him on the field. He was ahead of Ugo Amadi at the moment, but it’s early.

Of course, Quinton Dunbar wasn’t on the practice field because he is still going through his Covid testing. He didn’t get in town until Sunday night, so he needs a couple more days and a couple more negative tests to get on the field, which might be as early as Friday.

Dunbar should get his physical Friday.

Halfback Chris Carson wasn’t present because he was away because of a family issue.

Here are a couple other updates:

• The Seahawks could be moving closer to adding a defensive lineman or two. The Seahawks are looking for a defense end or a run-stopping defensive tackle. I’ve been saying that for the couple weeks. We saw on Wednesday that defensive tackle Mike Daniels showed where the market is. He signed a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals for $2.7 million.

• On a different front, the San Francisco 49ers picked Dion Jordan over Ziggy Ansah. Both came to the 49ers at the same time. They went through the Covid-19 testing and both passed. But the 49ers wanted to sign the former Seahawks defensive lineman who would accept a one-year, $910,000 minimum salary. Jordan accepted. Ansah wanted more so he left the 49ers without a deal.

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