4 things to watch in Seahawks preseason opener versus Chargers

The Seattle Seahawks start their 2024 preseason against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, August 10, at 4:05 pm PT. The game will be played at SoFi Stadium in LA. The weather is, well...California weather. Those are the facts.

What makes Seattle's first preseason game most memorable is that this will be the first time that 12s will see new head coach Mike Macdonald face a team that isn't his own. After 14 seasons, Pete Carroll is gone. Macdonald is the new king.

There will be a lot of position battles to watch. Who is going to take control of RB3 between George Holani and Kenny McIntosh, for instance? Is Derick Hall going to continue his good run of success in camp and become the primary backup edge rusher instead of Darrell Taylor? Preseason games are meaningless in terms of wins and losses but not to the players and coaches.

What Seattle Seahawks fans should look for in 2024 preseason game Week 1 versus the Chargers

Geno Smith out and Sam Howell in

Mike Macdonald has not officially ruled out Smith against the Chargers but has said he is unlikely to play. There really is no need for Smith to play. The reps he needs to work on getting the offense in shape in time for the regular season he can do in training camp. Maybe he gets reps in the second preseason game while not getting any in the third. That's the guess.

Smith not playing only means 12s will get to see a bunch of Sam Howell and PJ Walker. Howell is going to be on the team as QB2, but he hasn't been good in training camp for the most part. To relieve fans' and coaches' worries, he needs to show he can be good against a team wearing a different jersey than his own.

Walker has been relatively OK in camp, but he is simply hoping the Seahawks keep three quarterbacks on the roster (which appears unlikely) or that he plays well enough for another team to pick him up. This hopefully leads to a sharp performance where he leads Seattle to a second-half victory (the thinking being that Howell plays at least all of the first half).

Tyrice Knight could get a lot of playing time

Presumed starting inside linebacker Jerome Baker is not going to play. He is dealing with a hamstring injury and has missed a bunch of practice. The issue is that Baker entered camp after having wrist surgery after a 2023 injury so he wasn't able to go during minicamp either. He will have a lot to catch up on when he does return.

This gives Knight, a 2024 NFL draft pick, a chance to shine. He appeared to be fairly raw entering camp and he still won't be expected to start in Week 1 (or Week 14), but any reps he can get against a different team is going to be valuable long-term. If he plays well, great and that means he can help soon. If he is terrible, he might be a project who doesn't play much until 2025.

Battle of the backups will give 12s a lot of information

Most likely, there won't be a lot of starters who play much, if at all, in preseason Week 1. This is how it should be because teams are not scheming against each other and there is no real difference between a win or a loss. The important part of the preseason is for coaches to figure out which of the players fighting for a bottom of the roster spot perform best.

This should make for some fun football to watch for 12s as well. There will never be better games than the preseason for watching players fight to earn a livelihood. The cornerback position should be interesting with Mike Jackson and Nehemiah Pritchett wanting to outplay one another to show they should make the active roster.

The offensive line should be an interesting watch as well. We know that Charles Cross is going to make the team and might not play much. The same is probably true of George Fant. Center Connor Williams has not officially signed his contract so he can't play (that should happen soon). The main question is how well Christian Haynes and McClendon Curtis play at right guard.

The kickoff returns could be a bunch of fun

Perhaps the popcorn part of the game will come on kickoff returns. General manager John Schneider has made an effort of keeping or adding players who might only make the team as a returner. The Seahawks top four receiver spots are taken. DK Metcalf, Jaxon' Smith-Njigba, Tyler Lockett, and Jake Bobo are locks to make the team.

Free agent signee Laviska Shenault, Jr., and Seattle veteran Dee Eskridge are going to try to make the team with their kickoff return prowess. Both have flashed the ability in previous seasons. Whoever does best in preseason will probably make the team and the other could be released.

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