Three Seattle Seahawks facing make-or-break training camps

Seattle Seahawks rookies report to 2024 training camp on July 17, but the veterans report on July 23. There are then less than three weeks before Seattle begins its preseason play against the Los Angeles Chargers on August 10. In other words, things are going to begin happening fast.

Unlike any offseason since 2011, a year after former head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider began running the team, the coaching staff will not have first-hand knowledge of the players. The veterans will need to prove to the almost entirely new coaching staff they are worthy of keeping on the roster. This makes training camp extremely interesting.

There will be starting position battles, of course, but in most cases, the players involved will stay on the team. Other veterans might not be so lucky for various reasons. There are no built-in allegiances so every player will need to earn the way again.

Three Seahawks veterans who need to impress in 2024 training camp

Cornerback Tre Brown

Brown has been decent in coverage in his first three seasons and has a career passer rating when targeted of just 87.4. He has also allowed only three touchdowns when targeted and has picked off two passes. Still, he has struggled at times against bigger receivers. This seems to imply Brown should not be a full-time starter at one corner spot.

He also struggled in tackling last year, though almost every Seattle defender had done the same. But as Brown isn't big and might not be able to help much in run support, he is likely battling for a backup spot. His issue is that Seattle chose two cornerbacks in the 2024 NFL draft so Brown might be squeezed out of a job unless he is tremendous in camp.

Edge rusher Darrell Taylor

Taylor has been a one-trick pony his entire career. He can inconsistently get to the quarterback (though he either normally gets home or doesn't apply much pressure - he has 90 career pressures but that includes 23 sacks), but he fails at every other aspect of his position. He is a liability against the run, either incapable of being good in the area or unwilling to be, and when tasked with dropping into coverage, he isn't effective there.

Taylor's other issue is that the Seahawks assigned a tender to him so the team owes him $3 million if he sticks on the 2024 roster. That isn't a lot of money, but Seattle doesn't have much to spend. Releasing Taylor, and then potentially bringing him back, would open up a bit of cap room for the team.

The bottom line is that if Taylor doesn't show Mike Macdonald he can do well against the run, Taylor probably won't make the team.

Linebacker Jon Rhattigan

Rhattigan never fails to play hard and he might stay on the roster as a special teams ace. The Seahawks should have other players who can fill that role, however, who also play a part on offense or defense. Rhattigan is, at best, fourth on the inside linebacker depth chart behind Tyrel Dodson, Jerome Baker, and rookie Tyrice Knight.

The former Army player is probably in a battle with the more athletically gifted Drake Thomas and Patrick O'Connell. Rhattigan is a smart player, though, and that helps him. Still, like Taylor, he was also assigned a tender, and paying him $3 million to simply play special teams is likely too much.

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