For three seasons now, many Seattle Seahawks fans have clamored for a change at right guard. Anthony Bradford was inconsistent and tended to be poor. Surely, the team could do better. In Week 2's victory against the Arizona Cardinals, Christian Haynes mostly manned right guard and made a strong case for an eventual change at the position.
Haynes started and rotated a bit with Beau Stephens. The latter is a rookie and could turn into a good player, but at this point, Haynes is ahead of him both in feeling comfortable in the offense and on the depth chart.
Stephens played 27 snaps at right guard, allowed a quarterback hurry, and was meh as a run blocker. He definitely wasn't bad, but he also isn't ready to be a long-term starter.
Christian Haynes was quite good for the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2
Haynes played 43 snaps, didn't allow a single QB pressure, and teamed with right tackle Abraham Lucas to open some good-sized holes for the running backs ot run through. Just as importantly, he didn't draw any penalties, something that has plagued Bradford throughout his career.
Bradford's rookie contract is up at the end of this season, but Haynes has another year left after 2026. At the end of the season, Seahawks general manager John Schneider will have a decision to make about the future of Bradford. The GM definitely isn't going to overpay for a mediocre right guard, but he might not even think of paying Bradford at all because Haynes might be better.
What made Week 2 more surprising was that in the previous two seasons, Haynes hasn't been good. Some speculated he might not make the active roster this season, replaced by Stephens, a college All-American at Iowa. Stephens might still supplant Bradford or Haynes, but not yet, and maybe not ever.
Are the Seattle Seahawks going to transition away from Anthony Bradford? That is unlikely, as the team has stuck with him for several seasons already, and one good game from Christian Haynes isn't going to change their minds.
What would is if Bradford, who missed the game with a troublesome knee injury that doesn't appear to be overly serious, returns and isn't efficient? The team isn't going to consistently keep playing him if they think Haynes would be a better immediate and long-term solution. Also, one game's goodness doesn't mean Haynes is always going to play as well.
The right guard position is something for fans to keep an eye on, however. It could change as the season continues. Whoever mans the spot, let's just hope their play is worthy of doing so, or the team might find its next right guard in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Add us as a preferred source on Google