Notebook: Seahawks make it out of mock game injury-free
Aug 3, 2019, 8:47 PM | Updated: 9:32 pm
(Getty)
The Green Team was the victor of the Seahawks’ mock game thanks to a last-second touchdown from quarterback Geno Smith, but the best news of the day for a team facing depth concerns on defense came after the final whistle when Pete Carroll said Seattle made it out injury-free.
The Seahawks played front of a sold-out crowd at Bothell’s Pop Keeney stadium Saturday — the first time the team held its training camp scrimmage at an offsite location.
“Coming out here was amazing,” quarterback Russell Wilson told reporters afterward. “This is cool, we should do this more often. I think just to get out, change the scenery a little bit, have all the fans. It felt like it was a big-time state championship football game or something. So it was really cool. My first time ever doing it here, so it was a lot of fun.”
The Green Team, consisting of backups, came from behind to beat the Blue Team after quarterback Geno Smith found wide receiver Jazz Ferguson in the end zone. (Granted, they had the opportunity to score after Carroll decided to award them the ball thanks to an imaginary onside kick.)
Ferguson, a 6-foot-5 undrafted rookie out of Northwestern State, is pushing for a roster spot in a crowded receiver room but certainly helped his case Saturday. Carroll said Ferguson shed about 12 pounds from May’s rookie camp to July’s training camp. Also included in that wide receiver room are Keenan Reynolds, Amara Darboh, Terry Wright, Malik Turner, and David Moore, the latter of whom made an impressive leap to haul in a pass from Russell Wilson.
“This is a really competitive receiver group,” Carroll said. “It’s going to be great to see what happens all the way through preseason.”
Injury updates
While fans were undoubtedly hoping to see wide receiver DK Metcalf, the rookie was held out of the scrimmage with an oblique strain. Carroll said that injury came during the final play of Friday’s practice and the team will give him Saturday and Sunday off. They’re not sure yet whether he’ll be able to practice Monday.
Rookie linebacker Cody Barton, who sat out practice Friday, was also held out with a first-degree groin strain. Carroll said “it’ll be close for this weekend” for Barton, hinting the rookie might miss the Seahawks’ preseason opener against the Denver Broncos Thursday.
Return specialist/running back J.D. McKissic has mild foot sprain, while tight end Ed Dickson was given a break to recover from a nagging knee injury.
Notes
The Seahawks Saturday signed tight ends Jackson Harris and Wes Saxton following injuries to Tyrone Swoopes and Justin Johnson. Harris (6-foot-6, 250-pounds) is an undrafted rookie out of Georgia, while the 25-year-old Saxton (6-foot-4, 235-pounds) was most recently with the Birmingham Iron of the now-folded Alliance of American Football league. Swoopes and Johnson were waived/injured in a corresponding move.