The Seahawks conducted a light practice on Friday, August 12 before boarding a plane to Kansas City for the club's first preseason game, a matchup set for 1:30 p.m. PT on Saturday against the Chiefs.
Prior to the club's departure, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll met with the media to share a few thoughts and injury updates as his team readies for its first game action of 2016, where "The starters will play early in the game and then you'll see our backup guys get a ton of work," as Carroll put it.
"We're right on schedule," he said. "We have a real strict schedule that we follow, and this is it. Guys have worked really hard. We had a bunch of guys that have returned to practice in the last couple days, which is a great boost going into the game, some of which will play. Surprised us a little bit. So everybody's on it."
While "a bunch of guys" are on their way back to health, Carroll said there are several players who will not see action this weekend, including offensive lineman J'Marcus Webb, who has a "twisted knee" that Carroll said isn't serious, running backs Zac Brooks (hamstring), C.J. Prosise (hamstring), and Thomas Rawls, receivers Kasen Williams (hamstring), Kevin Smith (hamstring), and Deshon Foxx (hamstring), strong safety Kam Chancellor (groin), defensive tackles Jordan Hill (groin) and Sealver Siliga (calf), as well as tight end Jimmy Graham, who Carroll said would not travel as he continues to rehab his knee.
"They're starting to show now," Carroll said. "Next week should be a big week for guys returning. We've had some soft tissue things that caught us, but they're starting to come back, so it'll be steady. I would think by next week we'll have a bunch of those guys back."
With Rawls, Brooks, and Prosise out against the Chiefs, Carroll said young players like Alex Collins, Cameron Marshall, George Farmer and Troymaine Pope would carry the load at running back. Veteran Christine Michael, who has seen a lot of snaps with the first-string offense in training camp, is also in the mix.
Carroll also had this to say when asked about the return of Graham and Rawls, who worked out in practice for the first time this past week after starting camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list: "They came out of it with a really good attitude. They're excited to be back. The rehab thing just gets so old for them. They were ready to make the transition to start working with the fellas. We have not pushed them in practice yet with the reps and stuff, we're just getting them out there and making sure that we're doing this in the best fashion possible to keep these guys on track, and we don't want any setbacks."
Look through the best photos from the 11th day of Seahawks Training camp held at Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
