Three things we’ve learned so far from Seahawks training camp

With Seattle preparing for its preseason opener on Friday, consider this a progress report detailing what the Seahawks have shown over the first eight practices and what must still be sorted out:

Three things we learned

1. Michael Bennett’s dissatisfaction with his contract doesn’t matter.

It’s a matter of mind over matter. As in, the Seahawks don’t mind if he expresses his unhappiness with a deal that has three years left on it, which means it doesn’t matter that he’s continuously talking about it. He’s talked about it with the NFL Network, a Hawaiian TV station and to the Seattle Times at a fund-raising dinner he hosted in Bellevue. Other teams might get upset over a player being upset. Not Pete Carroll’s Seahawks. Bennett’s presence in practice says everything Seattle needs to know about his situation. He may not be happy – and he’s happy to tell you so – but he’s here, which is what really matters.

2. The secondary that has been Seattle’s primary strength is now its biggest question mark.

Start at safety, where none of the team’s top three safeties from last season were on the practice field last week. Kam Chancellor is holding out, Earl Thomas is coming off shoulder surgery and Jeron Johnson is now in Washington where he signed in the offseason. That leaves DeShawn Shead and Steven Terrell working with the first team, at least for now. Seattle may have more depth at cornerback, but not more experience. Of the seven cornerbacks practicing with the team last week, only one was with the Seahawks when training camp began last year: Richard Sherman, as Tharold Simon and Jeremy Lane are on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Sherman is the only cornerback whose spot is secure, Pete Carroll saying Saturday that while Cary Williams has looked good practicing with the first unit, he wants to leave open the possibility for Simon to compete for the job once he comes back from shoulder surgery. Will Blackmon and Marcus Burley are battling for the nickel cornerback slot with Lane recovering from offseason surgeries and no indication from the team so far that he’ll be ready to play in training camp. Then there’s rookie Tye Smith and newly acquired Mohammed Seisay.

3. Drew Nowak is the biggest surprise so far this training camp.

He’s one of three former defensive linemen the Seahawks have among their 15 offensive linemen in training camp, and in his second full season on that side of the ball, Nowak is making a bid to become the starter. At center. That’s remarkable when you consider the blocking adjustments the center is responsible for making along the entire line. Lemuel Jean-Pierre was the presumptive starter when training camp began, and he might eventually win that job, but after spending all last season on Seattle’s practice squad, Nowak is making a strong push to replace Max Unger as the nerve center of the Seahawks’ offensive line.

Three things we’re still trying to figure out

1. When is Kam Chancellor going to show up?

He’s not the first player to hold out for the Seahawks during John Schneider’s tenure as GM. Marshawn Lynch sat out the first eight days of training camp last year, but Chancellor’s absence is more worrisome for two reasons. First, Lynch’s unhappiness was evident for months before his holdout whereas Chancellor’s dissatisfaction with his deal was kept out of the public eye until training camp began. Second, the contractual adjustments Lynch received last year had already been offered months before his training-camp holdout, which means sitting out didn’t gain him anything. That means that Chancellor may not get much in the way of concessions from the team. If the Seahawks don’t budge, will Chancellor?

2. Is Bruce Irvin going to lift his way out of playing linebacker?

He showed up to training camp weighing 265 pounds, and no, it wasn’t because I brought him McDonald’s each week over the offseason. He is ripped and appears ready to use any pass-rushing opportunities he gets this season to show the league that he can be a defensive end in this league. That’s what he was drafted to play, and he had eight sacks in 2012, most of all rookies. But he moved to strongside linebacker the next season, and while he’s become solid – even occasionally spectacular there – a premium gets paid in this league to guys who can get to the quarterback. Irvin looks ready to make the most of any opportunities he gets to do that this season.

3. Is Seattle going to have room for all its running backs?

The Seahawks weren’t lacking for talent at that position. Not with Marshawn Lynch backed up by Robert Turbin and Christine Michael. Be prepared to add Thomas Rawls to that group. The undrafted rookie out of Central Michigan has been impressive since joining the team. Fullback Derrick Coleman is back after missing the final 10 regular-season games last season with a broken foot, but he injured his hamstring on the first day of training camp and hasn’t practiced since. Will Tukuafu – signed midway through last season – is still part of a picture in a backfield that is suddenly more crowded than it was a year ago.

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