Quenton Nelson’s former coach sees Seahawks as perfect fit

The Seattle Seahawks didn’t wait around to make a splash before the NFL’s trade deadline.

After blockbuster trade, what’s the Seahawks’ next move?

With two weeks left until the NFL’s seasonal embargo on trades, the Seahawks swung a massive deal Tuesday to acquire Indianapolis Colts guard Quenton Nelson, a six-time All-Pro with a resume that seems destined for future enshrinement in Canton, Ohio.

Former longtime Colts center Jeff Saturday, who also served as the team’s interim head coach in 2022 while Nelson was on the team, joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Wednesday to share his insight on his former player. He believes the physicality Nelson brings to the table is a perfect fit for Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks.

“The thing I loved most about him as a head coach is he would encourage or I’m assuming tell his coordinators, hey, even if we’re not efficient, we’re going to stay true to a balanced offense,” Saturday said of Macdonald. “And when you’re willing to do that, even when it’s not going great, you start to build this level of physicality. It helps your defense and then it helps explosive plays. And then when your run game gets going… all these things fall into place.

“So, the physicality by which (Nelson) plays fit so well in the personality and style of the Seahawks. I don’t think it could have been a better fit.”

Nelson, who will turn 31 during the offseason, joins Seattle while in the final year of his contract. With the Seahawks’ track record of trading for players on expiring deals and subsequently re-signing them, there is a general thought that they could do the same with Nelson. While Nelson is the only one who truly knows how much he has left in the tank, Saturday surmised from his own experience that Nelson should have a few years of good football left in him.

“I probably felt my best from 28 to 34, 35-ish, because you’re still athletic, but the game has slowed down so significantly,” Saturday explained. “There’s very few defenses and blitzes and concepts that you haven’t seen or talked through or been exposed to. And that… football intelligence just speaks for itself because you can solve problems without having to be on the sideline. You can solve them in that 40 seconds that’s going between plays… So, I think he’s in a great place and has many more years left.”

Brock and Salk: Quenton Nelson trade a ‘steal’ for Seattle Seahawks

As far as making the transition to offensive coordinator Brian Fleury’s system, Saturday doesn’t think it will be much of a challenge.

“It’ll all just be aiming point,” Saturday said. “… The Colts are outside zone, the shoulders for the running backs are going to be to the numbers. Nowadays, a lot of guys go to the outside edge of either the tight end or tackle. So, their pad angle is a little bit different. He’ll pick that up, man, in two days… I would plug him in any system and feel completely comfortable.”

The biggest challenge Saturday said Nelson will have will be picking up on the terminology of a new system.

“When we go through plays, you’re really listening for tags. Each position has its own tag in the play, so figuring out what that is,” Saturday said. “OK, this is an assault to the left, which means I gotta pick up from (the) will (linebacker) to weak safety, or whatever their calls are to pick up blitzes and trade off in pass games. That is definitely the most difficult thing to pick up kind of on the fly. But again, you’re going to go in with guys who want you there and are going to sit with you and spend time with you, and you’ll hash (it) out.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

Seattle Seahawks news and more

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• Where Quenton Nelson fits on Seattle Seahawks’ offensive line

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