Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner Reporting to Seahawks OTAs
During the first two weeks of the Seahawks organized team activities, as expected, few veterans have reported to the VMAC to participate in the voluntary workouts. But at least one high profile player appears set to return to the practice field this week.
Via Twitter, ESPN 710 host and former teammate Jake Heaps shared a video showing quarterback Russell Wilson on a flight back to Seattle on Sunday, indicating he will report for the final upcoming OTA sessions as well as next week's three-day mandatory minicamp.
In addition, per multiple sources, All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner is also expected to be in attendance for workouts this week.
Two weeks ago, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters less than 40 players were participating in the voluntary sessions. This was an expected development, as players released a statement through the NFL Players Association in early April stating they would not report for any voluntary on-field work due to the COVID-19 pandemic and safety concerns.
Instead, OTAs kicked off as more of an extension of the team's three-day rookie minicamp with incoming draft picks and undrafted rookies taking the bulk of the reps. But Carroll made it clear he wasn't worried at all about the poor attendance compared to the rest of the NFC West and pointed out players were partaking in four virtual meetings per week while training on their own across the country.
“I don’t manage anything on what’s going on around the rest of the league,” Carroll said on May 27. “We’re just doing what’s best for us, what our guys need to do. We’re making terrific progress, we’ve been here before with what we can get done virtually and it’s going great. Our guys are dedicated and working their butts off everywhere, all over the place and not many guys live here in the area so it’s a little bit more challenging to get guys in here early in the offseason."
What Carroll did note, however, was that he expected to see a significant uptick in attendance later in OTAs and aside from a few exceptions, most veterans would be back in town for mandatory minicamp on June 15-17. He said he has been engaged in open communications with Wilson, Wagner, and several other players in recent weeks about what needs to be done to prepare for training camp and the upcoming season.
Wilson's arrival, which will likely coincide with numerous other notable veterans returning to town in coming days, suggests Carroll and his players were able to reach a consensus on how to proceed with the offseason program.
“Our activities will pick up as we get closer to minicamp,” Carroll commented. “We expect a pretty darn good attendance at minicamp, there are a couple of guys that have some special situations, but for the most part we expect most of our guys to be there. The week before is really important week as well in preparation for it. We’ll see more guys coming through as we get to the middle of June."
"The conversations have been open. I’ve talked to a bunch of guys... We’re communicating on a good level about it. It hasn’t been a negotiation; it’s been a conversation about it. We’re kind of partnering in this thing to put it together so we can get what we need to get done."
To this point, according to Carroll, Wilson has been training with teammates at his personal facility in San Diego. Without him on the field to open OTAs, Danny Etling and Alex McGough have taken most of the reps under center, while backup Geno Smith reported last week.
It's been a turbulent offseason for Wilson and the Seahawks, as the star quarterback publicly aired his frustrations with the organization on a number of fronts, including getting hit too much, not having enough involvement in personnel decisions, and failing to advance further into the postseason. Agent Mark Rodgers also released four potential destinations where his client would be willing to waive his no-trade clause, leading to immense speculation about his future.
Ultimately, Seattle decided against trading Wilson despite reported discussions with other teams, including the Chicago Bears. General manager John Schneider downplayed such reports prior to the draft, saying he never engaged in "active discussions" with any other teams and that the organization plans on No. 3 being under center for years to come.
At least for now, the two sides seem to have settled their differences and Wilson has seemed upbeat about Seattle's offseason additions, including trading for guard Gabe Jackson and signing tight end Gerald Everett. He also was heavily involved with the hiring of new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and the new play caller has the signal caller in his corner.
Carroll has called the Wilson trade chatter "old news" on multiple occasions, including during an interview on The Rich Eisen Show, continuing to downplay a storyline that dominated headline news for months.
“He is fired up about his team,” Carroll told Eisen. “He’s fired up about his coaching staff. He’s fired up about the season coming up.”
Returning to the field for the first time since Seattle was ousted in a wild card upset by the Los Angeles Rams in January, Wilson will look to get off to a fast start teaming up with Waldron and bounce back from a difficult finish to the 2020 season. Though he threw a career-high 40 touchdown passes, he was picked off 13 times and only 12 of those touchdowns came during the final two months of the regular season as the offense around him became stagnant.
Rediscovering their top-ranked offense from the first eight weeks of the season under the direction of Waldron will be crucial to the Seahawks chances of repeating as NFC West champs and advancing deeper into the postseason. Doing so may also be the key to keeping Wilson happy and avoiding an inevitable breakup down the road, which will make these next few weeks important ones as everyone tries to get up to speed with a new scheme.
