The Seahawks will welcome the Las Vegas Raiders to Lumen Field on Thursday night for both teams' preseason opener, which means in addition to providing a good early test for both teams, the game will also feature a pair of familiar faces returning to Seattle.

Most notably, Pete Carroll, who over the course of 14 seasons became the most successful coach in Seahawks history, is back in town in his new job as the head coach of the Raiders, and joining Carroll in Las Vegas this year is quarterback Geno Smith, who spent six seasons with the Seahawks, including three as a starter, before being traded to the Raiders in March.

With that in mind, here are six things to watch in Thursday night's game at Lumen Field.

1. Pete Carroll and Geno Smith's return to Lumen Field.

Once Thursday's game gets started, it will most likely look and feel like any other preseason contest. But before the ball is kicked off, there are sure to be plenty of on-field reunions between Carroll and his former players and other staff members, and between Smith and his former teammates. Seahawks fans will no doubt offer up a warm welcome to the coach who led the team to it's first Super Bowl title, as well as for Smith, a two-time Pro-Bowler and the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year. And even though Carroll and Smith are coming to Seattle as opponents, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald fully expects and welcomes the idea of his predecessor and his former quarterback getting a nice ovation from the 12s.

"We should be cheering Pete when he gets here, we should be cheering Geno, how can we not?" Macdonald said. "We should be cheering those guys. Now when the ball's snapped, we're going to try to go win the game. We're not going to be playing our starters, but we're going to go compete like heck, I think Pete would appreciate that. I hope Pete gets a great ovation, he deserves it."

For his part, Carroll is trying to downplay the moment, at least heading into the contest.

"It's the only game we got; it happens to be in Seattle," Carroll told reporters in Las Vegas this week. "I loved my time in Seattle, and love the fans and people that we met and dealt with and competed with, but it's a game for us, we're going to go play ball."

Said Smith, "Really looking forward to it. Looking forward to seeing my old teammates, old coaches, people in the building. It'll be fun. And also, going back with Pete, that's pretty cool, and then it's another opportunity to compete with my guys. That's always what it's all about.

Asked what his time in Seattle meant to him, Smith told reporters, "Man, it means everything. It means a lot to me. It's the place I called home for six years, I had a son there. I was able to really turn my career around. I met some really cool people, got to know a lot of great people there, a lot of great teammates over the years. Just really special things, special thoughts that come to my mind when I think about it."

2. The Jalen Milroe show.

Once the game starts, Smith likely won't play much, if at all, nor will Seahawks starter Sam Darnold, with Macdonald saying this week that most starters won't play. Drew Lock, Seattle's No. 2 quarterback, will presumably get the start, but rookie Jalen Milroe, who was selected with the third-round pick the Raiders sent to Seattle in exchange for Smith, is sure to see a lot of action as well.

And when Milroe is on the field, he will definitely be a player to watch. Most significantly for his and the Seahawks' future, Milroe has made significant strides as a passer throughout offseason workouts and camp, making the kind of day-to-day and week-to-week progress that coaches love to see out of a rookie. But in the context of this game, what will also be worth watching is Milroe's playmaking ability as a dual-threat passer. In addition to the big arm Milroe has shown off in camp, completing several deep balls in recent practices, he also possesses elite speed and running ability that allowed him to rush for 1,257 yards and 32 touchdowns over his final two seasons at Alabama.

Asked what he wants to see from the rookie QB, Macdonald said, "Keep doing what he's doing. You don't have to reinvent quarterback play, just do all the things that you've been trained to do. Go let it rip. Be decisive and be the quarterback and person that we drafted you to be, and that he's becoming out there every day. If you guys see it, there's a lot of progress, a lot of things to be excited about, and there's a lot of things we want to work on too, so I can't wait. I can't wait to watch it, I can't wait to watch Drew (Lock) play. You could name any one of the 90 guys that are going to go out there or could go out there, there's something that fires you up about seeing that person go out for the first time and seeing what they do."

3. How do rookies, several of whom will have big roles, look in their first game action?

While most of Seattle's starters won't play Thursday, Macdonald clarified that some will, particularly young players set to take on significant or starting roles this season. Among those players named by Macdonald are first-round pick Grey Zabel, who has solidified his spot as Seattle's left guard, and both of Seattle's second-round picks, safety Nick Emmanwori and tight end Elijah Arroyo, both of whom will have big roles whether or not they're technically listed as starters.

"It not like, 'Hey, we're taking the 22 guys that are penciled in with the ones and they're not playing,'" Macdonald said. "It's select guys. Some position battles are still going. If there's younger guys, like Nick will get some good reps. You'll see Grey initially, Elijah will play. So all those young guys, they need that, they need experience and reps too."

All three of those players, along with receiver Tory Horton, a fifth-round pick out of Colorado State, have had impressive training camps, but this will be fans' first chance to see those rookies in a game setting.

4. Does anyone stand out in the return game?

The Seahawks will have new kick and punt returners this season, and while teams do spend time on special teams in practice, there is no substitution for full-speed game reps when in comes to kick and punt returns. Steve Sims, a free-agent signing who is a leading candidate for kick and punt return duties, is battling a hamstring injury, so he may not play, but plenty of other candidates for those jobs will be suited up, including Horton, who returned punts in college with a lot of success.

5. Which edge defenders make their case for a role on defense.

The Seahawks have a solid top four in their edge rotation in Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, DeMarcus Lawrence and Uchenna Nwosu, but with Nwosu on the physically unable to perform list and his return date uncertain, the Seahawks might need another player or two to step up at that spot until he's back. With Lawrence, Mafe and Hall all unlikely to play, Thursday's game will provide a great chance for roster hopefuls to show what they can do. Last year, Jamie Sherriff made a name for himself in the preseason, eventually earning a spot on the team; is there another young outside linebacker or defensive end who can do the same this year?

"I think they got to do their superpower," Macdonald said when asked about the edge group. "Tyreke Smith is a great rusher, and so bring that to the table. Special teams is going to be a huge part of it. Mike Mo (Morris) is kind of like the enforcer on the edge with pass rush flexibility. Being able to do those jobs and you can kind of go through the line from there."

6. Does a preseason game give any more clarity to the competitions at center and right guard?

The Seahawks came into camp with open competitions for two starting spots on the offensive line, center and right guard. Olu Oluwatimi, who finished last season as the starting center, appears to be in the lead at that spot, but has been sidelined this week with a back injury and is day-to-day, according to Macdonald. Anthony Bradford, who opened last season as the starting right guard, looks to be leading in that competition, but still has to hold off the likes of Jalen Sundell and Christian Haynes, both of whom are also in the mix at center.

Even if Oluwatimi and Bradford have taken the lead at their respective positions, a strong performance in a preseason game—again, Oluwatimi's availability is uncertain due to the back injury—would help cement that lead. For other players still battling at those spots, a strong showing Thursday could help convince coaches to keep the competition going longer.

"I think he's taking control of his career," Macdonald said when asked about Bradford. "I think it's his mentality that it's up to him. Nobody else can want it for him. We obviously know he has the talent to be a great player in this league, and he's shown it in practice consistently. He has game reps where he's shown it. We all know it's a matter of consistency and that's the challenge for him to finish this start that he's put together and we're about halfway through training camp. Let's go close the thing out the right way. It's a long season and we have to keep stacking those reps."

From a big-picture perspective, Thursday's game will also provide a good first look at the line, regardless of who is on the field, in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's scheme.