The Seahawks are close to a deal with free agent offensive lineman Connor Williams.
Williams’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told the Joe Rose radio show on Monday that he expects to reach agreement with Seattle in the next 48-72 hours.
Williams worked out for the Seahawks on July 22.
He is coming back from a “significant” knee injury that included a torn ACL during a Dec. 11 game against the Titans. Rosenhaus, though, said Williams is “healthy.”
“He’s going to be able to play in the first game,” Rosenhaus told Rose, via Scott Saloman of SI.com. “It is the most amazing recovery I have ever seen in my career.”
Williams moved from guard to center after signing a two-year deal with the Dolphins in 2022 and became a solid starting center. He became a free agent this offseason, and the Dolphins replaced him by signing former Titans center Aaron Brewer to a three-year, $21 million deal.
Williams is one of the few players remaining on PFT’s list of top-100 free agents.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith returned to practice on Monday and he should be fine going forward.
Smith missed several practices in a row last week with knee and hip injuries.
But head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters after Monday’s session that it was “great” to have Smith back and the QB should be fine going forward.
“As far as I know, I think he’s rolling,” Macdonald said, via Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune.
Sam Howell and P.J. Walker had been taking the snaps at quarterback with Smith sidelined.
Smith, 33, threw for 3,624 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2023.
The reports of Geno Smith’s impending return have turned out to be correct.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, Smith is on the field for the Seahawks’ Monday practice.
Smith has been dealing with knee and hip injuries and missed several days of on-field work. But reports have indicated that testing on the injuries did not reveal anything serious and that Smith would be back soon.
Last season, Smith completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,624 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The Seahawks also have Sam Howell and P.J. Walker on their roster at QB.
Free agent safety Quandre Diggs is signing with the Titans, he announced on social media.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that it’s a one-year, $3 million deal with $1 million in incentives based on play time and $1 million more in performance-based incentives.
Diggs’ agreement reunites him with former Seahawks teammate Jamal Adams, who signed with the Titans this offseason.
Diggs, 31, will compete with Elijah Molden to start next to Amani Hooker.
The Seahawks made Diggs a salary-cap casualty March 5, saving $11 million in space.
Seattle acquired Diggs in a 2019 trade with the Lions. He went to three consecutive Pro Bowls with the Seahawks and had 18 interceptions in his four-plus seasons with the team.
In 2023, Diggs totaled 95 tackles, an interception and five pass breakups.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has missed several practices in a row due to knee and hip issues, but he should be back on the field soon.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Smith is expected to return to practice early next week.
That follows a Friday report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter that testing on Smith’s knee and hip did not reveal anything significant.
The Seahawks are holding an open practice at Lumen Field on Saturday, with multiple reporters on the scene noting that Smith is not participating.
In 2023, Smith completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,624 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Sam Howell and P.J. Walker are the other two quarterbacks on Seattle’s roster.
Dwight Freeney was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his second year of eligibility. It likely was a year longer than he likely thought he should wait.
No matter, Freeney saw his bust unveiled Saturday after seven Pro Bowls, three All-Pros, an All-Decade Team, 16 seasons, 47 forced fumbles and 125.5 sacks. His patented spin move still is talked about and copied today.
Colts owner Jim Irsay called Freeney “a twirling dervish” in his presentation of Freeney.
Freeney was the first of seven inductees honored Saturday in a ceremony delayed an hour and 45 minutes by inclement weather, and his speech will be hard to follow.
“I want to thank this great game of football for giving me the opportunity to express myself and my creativity to the world,” Freeney said. “I always felt like I was an artist, and the football field was my canvas, and I am forever grateful for that feeling. One of the things that motivated me was never being completely satisfied with myself and my performance. It’s what drove me to continue to improve my skillset and my mission to perfect my craft and try to dominate every Sunday.
“I realized that in order for me to win battles on the field I had to win the internal battles with myself. I had to keep pushing myself not to be complacent or lazy, to not look for excuses for why something didn’t happen but to make it happen.”
Freeney made an impact as a rookie when he set a team rookie record with 13 sacks and led the NFL with nine forced fumbles and 20 tackles for loss. It was one of seven double-digit sack seasons he had.
He did it at 6 foot 1, 268 pounds.
Freeney played 11 seasons with the Colts and went on to spend time with the Chargers, Cardinals, Falcons, Lions and Seahawks, retiring after the 2017 season.
“From time to time, I think about coming out of retirement for just for one more year,” Freeney said. “Until I realize I can’t even catch my 3-year-old running down the hallway with the TV remote in her hand. It’s crazy. I went from chasing quarterbacks in the league to pulling my hamstring in the hallway chasing my kids.”
Freeney credited his mom for teaching him that “life isn’t a straight road; it’s full of peaks and valleys, and navigating through them is the key.”
“If you’re a young, aspiring, future NFL player, let me say this: Football’s not an easy game, and it can seem like it’s an impossible journey,” Freeney said in ending his speech. “But alwa remember that your hard work and sacrifice are the keys to opening the door to your dreams. People will call you too slow, too short, not tough enough, not strong enough. Use those words as fuel to ignite the internal fire that will motivate you and push to places you never thought were possible.
“All those bumps and bruises that make you want to quit. Fighting through that will make you into a better player and a better person. So I hope that you guys can look at my journey, and what I went through, and know that it’s possible to become who you want to be.”
When it became clear that the Broncos would release quarterback Russell Wilson, he had a plan for sticking it to Denver. That plan could be backfiring on him.
With the Broncos owing him $38 million this year, subject to offset, Wilson took the minimum salary from the Steelers of $1.21 million. This forces the Broncos to pay Wilson $36.79 million.
It gives the Steelers a very cheap option, at starter or backup. And with the Steelers making a minimum financial investment in Wilson, the Steelers will be feeling no internal political compulsion to play him. If he wins the job, great. If he doesn’t, they’ll play someone else and have a Super Bowl-winning quarterback as their insurance policy.
Wilson is actually the lowest-paid veteran quarterback on the team. Justin Fields will get $1.616 million this year. Kyle Allen gets $1.292 million.
So with Wilson suffering a calf injury during the conditioning test and the Steelers taking it slow with his recovery, Fields (and, for that matter, Allen) have gotten extra reps in new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s system. If Fields performs well enough to win the job, Wilson really can’t do anything but wait for an opportunity.
If he wants to be a clear-cut starter in 2025, he needs to play this year. And he needs to play well. Both are in jeopardy due to the injury.
The good news is he’ll be making $38 million this year, no matter what. The not-good news is that his opportunities to be a starter could be drying up, forcing him to choose between remaining in the game as a backup or walking away, as soon as next year.
The Seahawks can collectively breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to their quarterback.
While Geno Smith has been out of practice for the last couple of days, he should be OK moving forward. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, testing on Smith’s knee and hip didn’t reveal anything significant and the quarterback should not miss any time.
Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald said on Thursday that Smith has been “working through a couple of things from the other day.”
While Macdonald wasn’t sure at that time if Smith would be able to return for Friday’s practice, the new reporting makes it seem like Smith is fairly close to doing so.
Smith, 33, has been a Pro Bowler in each of the last two seasons for Seattle. In 2023, he threw for 3,624 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 65 percent of his passes.
The Seahawks also have Sam Howell and P.J. Walker on their roster at quarterback.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald wouldn’t reveal much about what is ailing Geno Smith, who has missed the past two days of practice.
The team, though, said Wednesday that Smith was getting his hip and knee worked out during practice.
“He’s working through a couple of things from the other day,” Macdonald said Thursday, via video from Gregg Bell of The News Tribune. “Get some imaging tonight and we’ll see.”
Macdonald intimated that Smith will miss a third day of practice Friday.
“I don’t know about [returning to practice] tomorrow, but we’ll see what comes out of it when he goes to see the doc,” Macdonald said.
Smith has led the Seahawks to the postseason the past two seasons, while earning his first two Pro Bowl nods. He has 50 touchdowns and 20 interceptions the past two seasons since replacing Russell Wilson in Seattle.
Sam Howell is the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart, with P.J. Walker is the only other quarterback on the 90-man roster.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith sat out his second straight practice on Thursday.
According to multiple reports, the team came out to practice at training camp without Smith and he later joined them on the field in sweats, sneakers and a baseball camp.
Smith was held out of Wednesday’s practice as well and the team said he was getting his hip and knee worked out while the rest of the team was on the field. The same issues are likely the reason why he’s not on the field on Thursday.
Sam Howell is the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart in Seattle and has seen an uptick in work with Smith off the field. P.J. Walker is the only other quarterback on the 90-man roster.