Five things to watch as Seahawks head into OTAs

The Seahawks’ offseason is no longer focused on personnel, but preparation.

The team-building phase during which NFL franchises buy each other’s players and take turns picking from the incoming crop of new job candidates is over. Seattle’s roster has been altered, for better (in the case of Jimmy Graham’s acquisition) and for worse (as in the free-agency departure of Byron Maxwell).

Wilson, Graham absent from first OTA

On Tuesday, the Seahawks will hold an “Organized Team Activity” – which only sounds like a movie night or an outing to race go-karts, but is actually pretty close to an honest-to-goodness practice – as the team begins preparing for next season.

With that in mind, here are some of the plotlines that will need to be resolved before the regular season begins:

1. Is Michael Bennett going to be there?

It would be a surprise if he was. While he’s dismissed the reports he wants a trade, he hasn’t denied wanting a raise and this is a voluntary camp. In other words, Bennett’s presence would mean more than his absence. If he’s there, that’s probably the last we’ve heard of any discussion for a raise. If he’s not there? Well, then everyone will wait and watch to see if he will miss something that’s mandatory.

2. How about Marshawn Lynch? He signed a new contract so he’ll be there Tuesday, right?

Well, if you’re clued into Beastmode’s plans, you’ve got a leg up on everyone who covers the team. But there shouldn’t be any real concern about Lynch’s attendance or possible lack thereof. If it was important to the team for Lynch to be present, they could have written it into the new contract he signed with the team. After all, Seattle just gave him more than a 50-percent raise, and if his participation in offseason training was important to the Seahawks they could have installed a workout bonus in there. If he’s not present, no one should worry, though.

3. What spot on the roster is thinnest?

Quarterback, and that has nothing to do with Russell Wilson’s contract negotiation. Right now, B.J. Daniels and R.J. Archer are the other two quarterbacks on the roster. Tarvaris Jackson remains unsigned, and the team would love to have him back. If he doesn’t return, though, expect Seattle to be looking around for someone else to compete with Daniels for the job as Wilson’s backup.

4. How about Seattle’s defense? What’s the thinnest spot there?

Safety. For the past two seasons Seattle had the luxury of having one of the most capable backups in the league in Jeron Johnson. He was versatile enough to play either safety position in Seattle’s defense, but he signed with Washington as a free agent. So who’s on deck behind starters Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor? Well, Deshawn Shead is entering his third season while rookie Ryan Murphy was a seventh-round choice from Oregon State. Two other players who will be candidates to make the regular-season roster are Dion Bailey, a second-year player out of USC, and rookie Triston Wade, who was undrafted out of Texas (San Antonio).

5. Which starting job is the most up in the air?

Left guard. James Carpenter played that spot the past few years but signed with the Jets in the offseason. Seattle drafted Terry Poole out of San Diego State in the fourth round, an offensive tackle in college whom the Seahawks see as a good fit inside, but Alvin Bailey is going to get first crack at this job. He’s played three different positions in the two seasons since Seattle signed him as an undrafted rookie out of Arkansas. His weight was an issue for coaches last season as he played at 350 pounds.

Tom Cable, Seattle’s offensive line coach, said that’s not unusual for a lineman after he gets through his first season. In fact, he warned Bailey and the other young linemen that they would have a tendency to indulge during their first NFL offseason.

“First time doing it, you’re going to put on weight,” Cable said. “Sure enough, it happened. So I think he’s learned. And that’s maturity. That’s what we were expecting when he left in February. The mission was for him to come back at the 320 mark, an area where he can be at his best because he got too big.”