RENTON — Tuesday afternoon’s practice at the VMAC, the last for the Seahawks before heading to Green Bay for a joint practice Thursday and a preseason game Saturday, seemed to only confirm that the battle at right guard appears to have a winner.
Once again, third-year vet Anthony Bradford went first with the starting offense and got most of the reps at right guard with first-round pick Grey Zabel entrenched at left guard.
The Seahawks apparently are willing to add to the guard competition as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Tuesday that they are expected to get a visit from veteran free agent Dalton Risner.
Risner, 30, has 81 starts at guard in a career that dates to 2019. He spent his first four seasons with Denver and the last two with the Vikings and has been a free agent since March when his contract with Minnesota ran out.
One reason he remains available could be that teams want to see how healthy he is after he suffered a back injury in training camp last season that limited him to 10 games.
He returned to start the final eight games and finished with a 68.1 grade from Pro Football Focus, 22nd of 77 guards, in 611 snaps.
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Risner also visited the Bengals earlier in the week and the ESPN report stated he may also visit the Steelers and “wants to take multiple visits before making a decision.”
There is plenty of familiarity with Risner and some key Seahawks.
He blocked last year for new quarterback Sam Darnold in Minnesota, and he played in 2022 in Denver when new Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was the offensive passing game coordinator and when new run game specialist and assistant offensive line coach Justin Outten was the offensive coordinator.
That experience makes Risner well-versed in the outside zone scheme the Seahawks are transitioning to under Kubiak and new O-line coach John Benton.
Via Pro Football Focus, Risner played every snap last year at right guard. But he also has extensive experience at left guard.
Bradford has played well in camp and appears to have earned the right spot in a battle with second-year player Christian Haynes. Zabel’s spot on the left side has seemed secure since day one.
The Seahawks signed veteran free agent Josh Jones to play both guard and tackle, though he has been almost solely used as a backup tackle in camp, getting ample work with the ones because of a finger injury to starting left tackle Charles Cross.
Haynes has been used on both sides with the second-team offense in recent days, appearing to be prepped to be able to back up on either side on game day behind Zabel and Bradford.
The Seahawks could view Risner as potential competition on the right side and for the swing guard spot on gameday as he’d bring vastly more experience than Haynes, who did not start a game last season and has just 167 career snaps.
Risner may be relatively inexpensive. He made $2.4 million last year with the Vikings, according to OvertheCap.com, and Pro Football Focus in the spring assessed Risner’s value at one year, $4.5 million.
Interestingly, one reason Risner was not re-signed by the Vikings is that Minnesota made a quick move when free agency began to sign guard Will Fries of the Colts to a five-year, $88 million deal with $44 million guaranteed.
The Seahawks were interested in making a run at Fries but wanted to bring him in for a physical before signing him as he suffered a fractured tibia last season.
Risner was a second-round pick by Denver in 2019 out of Kansas State, taken 41st overall, where he spent his first few seasons blocking for Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock.
The Seahawks’ oft-criticized offensive line has appeared revived so far in the preseason helping pave the way for 438 rushing yards on 80 carries, 5.5 per attempt.
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Center Olu Oluwatimi, who has practiced sparingly the last week-and-a-half while dealing with a back issue and did not play in either preseason game, was back on the field Tuesday and appeared to do as much work as he had since before being sidelined.
Jalen Sundell appeared to get most of the work with the No. 1 offense at center. The Seahawks appear hopeful Oluwatimi will get some work in the joint practice at a position that officially still remains open.
Running back Kenneth Walker III also practiced fully on Tuesday, having also done so on Sunday (the team had Monday off), and Macdonald said the hope is he also gets some work against the Packers.
A few other players who have been out recently also returned, including cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles and edge rusher Tyreke Smith, while linebacker Josh Ross did some individual work but is still wearing a club on his hand after recently suffering an injury.
Receiver Tory Horton remained out with an ankle injury suffered in the Kansas City game, while linebacker Jalan Gaines also remains out with a wrist/hand injury.
Weakside linebacker Tyrice Knight (knee) also remains out while edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu also has yet to return to practice. The Seahawks announced Sunday that Nwosu has passed his physical and is eligible to practice but for now he remains on the Physically Unable to Perform list and has yet to practice.
Seahawks get “needed” day off
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald surprised his players by canceling Monday’s practice and taking the players to Top Golf in Renton for a team bonding activity.
Players still attended meetings and other regular functions in the morning.
“Oh, we needed it,” linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. “We’ve been working hard here. We’ve been putting in the work, so to get a day off and to be able to relax, get to know guys that you haven’t had a chance to always communicate with, it’s been good.”
Asked who has the best and worst swings, Jones said with a not entirely straight face: “Tyrice Knight, without a doubt, has the worst. The best, I’d say me.”
Notes
Cross, who had finger surgery early in camp, is getting more work during the early portions of practice, indicating that he will be ready for the opening game of the regular season against the 49ers on Sept. 7.
Snapper Chris Stoll, who has missed the two preseason games with a back injury, was in pads Tuesday, but Zach Triner appeared to get the work during team sessions.
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta covers the Seahawks for the Seattle Times. He provides daily coverage of the team throughout the year.