By Bob Condotta Seattle Times
NASHVILLE – The Seahawks play what is becoming an annual game in this city Sunday night, their second of three exhibition contests before the start of the regular season.
Seattle has been here for two regular-season games and now two preseason games, each accompanied by a joint practice, since 2023.
There are worse places, which may be why the Seahawks keep coming back.
Friday’s joint practice may be the most work many of the team’s players get here this weekend. For others, Sunday’s game, kicking off at 5 p.m. Seattle time and airing on FOX, could be pivotal as the Seahawks continue narrowing decisions ahead of the roster cutdown from 91 to 53. That arrives on Aug. 30 at 3 p.m.
Here are some things to watch:
### Will the starters play?
If they do, it won’t be much. But if they’re due to get any preseason action, it might make sense for it to come in this game.
Sam Darnold and the starting offense played one series in the preseason last year – in the second game against Kansas City, driving 81 yards in 10 plays for a TD, which proved to be more foreshadowing than may have been realized.
Maybe getting a series against the Titans makes some sense since it’s game two of the preseason and also the only team on the preseason schedule the Seahawks don’t play in the regular season (Seattle closes the preseason Friday night in Kansas City).
But a series or two would figure to be it if starters do go after they got a lot of work Friday.
“We got a lot of reps in,” Macdonald said after the joint practice. “If you play starters in a preseason game, you’re looking at maybe upwards of 20 reps, but now you’re getting upwards of 40 or 50 really good physical reps in a little more controlled environment, which is a positive for everybody.”
### Will Jadarian Price play?
Especially if the starters play, maybe it makes sense to get Jadarian Price – Seattle’s first-round running back projected to replace departed Super Bowl MPV Kenneth Walker III – his first action of the preseason as well.
Price got a handful of snaps in the joint practice as he continues to “ramp back up” to full duty, to use Macdonald’s phrase.
George Holani also got a lot of work Friday after getting a team-high 12 carries against the Cowboys last week, so he might be somewhat limited against the Titans.
That could leave a lot of carries for the likes of Jacardia Wright – who is back and took part in the joint practice – Velus Jones Jr. and recently signed Anthony Hankerson. Free-agent signee Emanuel Wilson is still sidelined with an apparent leg injury.
### Which receivers will step up?
Saturday’s news that Jake Bobo will go on Injured Reserve and miss the season after suffering a knee injury in Friday’s practice makes official that there is a spot available on the 53-man roster for a receiver.
There may even be two depending on whether Tory Horton’s unspecified injury issues are enough that the team will worry he might miss games to start the year.
Cody White and Montorie Foster Jr. are the two most obvious candidates to take a roster spot, and both figure to get snaps Sunday to further state their case.
But there may suddenly be more of a chance for players such as Ricky White III, Emmanuel Henderson Jr. and Rashad Rochelle than had been expected. All figure to get plenty of playing time Sunday.
### Can Milroe take a step forward?
Even if Darnold gets a series to start, most of the QB duties Sunday figure to go to backup Drew Lock and third-teamer Jalen Milroe.
Lock and Milroe rotated last week against Dallas, each getting two series in each half. The Seahawks might deviate from that plan against the Titans and let them play more extended consecutive time.
There isn’t any battle for the backup job. But Lock saw little playing time last season so he figures to get some now to assure he’s ready.
The preseason is especially important for Milroe to show growth in Year 2. His numbers weren’t much last week – 5-of-8 passing for 36 yards and five rushes for 36 yards – with the Seahawks going scoreless in his four series.
Lock, meanwhile, was 9-of-13 passing for 40 yards and a touchdown and one rush for 6 yards.
“I think there is room to grow, but I think both had solid performances, frankly,” Macdonald said this week. “It wasn’t much (available) for Jalen to come to life. There are better decisions he could make, a little more decisive in a couple situations, but that’s going to be every quarterback. I was pleased with our performances. I felt like it was a good start.”
### What’s going on at cornerback?
The big news of the week was Seattle signing veteran free agent cornerback Trevon Diggs, a first-team All-Pro with Dallas in 2021 when he had a league-high 11 interceptions.
A serious knee injury in 2023 began to derail his Dallas career and he has played just 22 games the past three seasons and another in the playoffs.
Diggs won’t play Sunday, but his signing – as well as the pursuit of Terrion Arnold, who has yet to sign and isn’t expected to until following the Kansas City game – showed that the third cornerback spot behind Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe remains in flux.
Nehemiah Pritchett has held that spot much of camp.
But Noah Igbinoghene got most of the third-corner reps with the starters in the joint practice and Pritchett was with the backups.
Macdonald afterward said of the third-corner competition that “it’s still rolling.”
### Will the Seahawks be crisper?
What seemed to irk Macdonald the most after the Dallas game – aside from the score and Seattle going without a point for the final 52:18 of the game – was how sloppy the Seahawks were at times.
The Seahawks were flagged for eight penalties for 71 yards and had another three that were declined. Macdonald also seemed to feel that the general operation – getting play calls in, everyone getting lined up right – wasn’t quite where it needed to be.
Macdonald said everybody was to blame, including himself and other coaches.
“It was a good wakeup call that we’ve got to get better,” he said.