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5 biggest takeaways from a chippy Seahawks-Packers joint practice

Here's what we learned from a joint practice that came with a reasonable amount of trouble.
Tim Weaver|
Dec 15, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) tackles Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) following a reception by Watson during the third quarter at Lumen Field.
Dec 15, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48) tackles Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) following a reception by Watson during the third quarter at Lumen Field. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks got compltely humiliated by the Green Bay Packers when they came to visit Lumen Field last season for a Sunday Night Football matchup. In addition to getting blown out on offense, defense and special teams they also lost the battle in the stands, where there appeared to be more Packers fans than Seahawks fans.

As you might imagine, some Seattle players were eager to get some payback during today's joint practice just outside of Lambeau Field ahead of Saturday's preseason game, which will mostly feature rookies, scrubs and other guys on the roster bubble for both teams.

Here are a few big takeaways from today's practice, which got chippy several times but thankfully fell short of turning into a full-blown brawl.

Charles Cross returns to lineup

The best news to come out of the session is that the Seahawks' starting left tackle has returned to the lineup. Charles Cross had been sitting out 11-on-11 drills for the last few weeks as he recovered from a finger injury that required surgery. This was an unexpected early return to action for the fourth-year tackle, who wasn't anticipated to get back to full speed until Week 1.

JSN shines vs. tough Packers defense

Green Bay's defense totally shut down Seattle's offense last season, holding them to a grand total of six points until garbage time. That dynamic shifted in today's practice, as the team's number one wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba dominated, especially in red zone drills according to observers, making several big catches and scoring multiple touchdowns. He let the Packers know about it, too.

Ken Walker comes to Jake Bobo's defense

It wasn't all wins for Seattle's offense, though. Green Bay's defense won their fair share of reps, including one on the sideline from cornerback Kamal Hadden. Afterwards, he got into fan favorite Jake Bobo's face to talk some trash. That brought on a string of obscenities from starting running back Kenneth Walker III.

Red zone defense sharp vs. Jordan Love

On the other side of the field, the Seahawks defense had a strong performance against the Packers' rising star at quarterback, Jordan Love. According to Gregg Bell, the Packers only managed to score touchdowns on two of 12 attempts from the six-yard line, one of which came when Julian Love slipped and fell. With Love avoiding Devon WiItherspoon, Riq Woolen and returning vet Shaq Griffin both posted multiple pass breakups.

Multiple fights break out

It sounds like the red zone drills got chippy enough on both sides for fights to break out, including a bench-clearing one after Ken Walker scored a touchdown. According to Mike Dugar at The Athletic, another fight broke immediately out on the other side of the field between the Packers offense and Seahawks defense.

Bob Condotta at the Seattle Times says right guard Anthony Bradford was in the thick of it on one side of the field, but he says in both cases the fights were quickly extinguished.

Meanwhile, Gregg Bell observed that Witherspoon got in a good audible slap on a Packers offensive lineman's helmet and then shared some vintage trash talk.

None of the scrums turned into the kind of over-the-top dangerous brawls we've seen between the Bengals and the Rams and other teams getting involved in during recent years. However, head coach Mike Macdonald did take the time to step in and cool things down at one point.

The Seahawks will likely have tomorrow off - if they do practice it will be a very light walk-through. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm Pacific time on Saturday.

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Published
Tim Weaver
TIM WEAVER

Tim Weaver has been writing about the NFL since the 2013 season for multiple teams and outlets, including USA Today and The Sporting News. He currently covers the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers for On SI.