With big names departed, Seattle Seahawks defense begins new era

Gregg Bell | The News Tribune

RENTON -- No Richard Sherman. No Michael Bennett. No Kam Chancellor. No Cliff Avril. For now, anyway, no Earl Thomas.

This is a new era for the Seahawks' once-star-packed defense.

That is the most striking aspect to the offseason practices, known as organized team activities, that continued Wednesday. Pro Bowl linebackers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright are the only easily recognizable "names" remaining from the Seahawks' Super Bowl defenses of four and five years ago.

"It's sad," said wide receiver Doug Baldwin, a Seahawks since 2011, when he arrived in Seattle via the same draft class as Sherman. "It changes the dynamic of the team, in some ways. Obviously, the energy is different."

For one thing, there aren't fights and physicality levels that break NFL rules. Those things happened routinely during previous offseason workouts featuring Sherman, Bennett and friends.

In 2016, the league levied fines against the team ($400,000) and coach Pete Carroll ($200,000), plus took away a fifth-round draft choice, because of excessive contact during a minicamp practice. That violated the league's collective bargaining agreement.

And the Seahawks were repeat offenders. In 2014, Sherman got in a fight with wide receiver Phil Bates in an offseason minicamp. That drew the league's attention to how rowdy Seattle's offseason practices could be.

Sherman and Baldwin even used to fight each other in training camps. And they remain great pals from when they played together at Stanford.

"Obviously, if Sherm was out here it would be a lot louder," Baldwin said last week at OTAs, with a grin.

Two years ago, Bennett fought then-rookie offensive lineman Germain Ifedi in the preseason. Last summer, Ifedi and defensive lineman Frank Clark threw punches at each other during a practice, leaving Ifedi on the ground bloodied and Clark essentially suspended from practice for a few days.

Now, Sherman is with San Francisco after the Seahawks waived him in March. Seattle traded Bennett to Philadelphia that month. Avril is retired because of a neck injury. Chancellor's neck injury has left his career in doubt. Thomas is skipping these voluntary workouts while wanting a new contract.

Second-year cornerback Shaquill Griffin was on the field last week trying to move from his right-side starting role last year to Sherman's old left side now. With Byron Maxwell also skipping the voluntary OTAs, the right cornerback was special-teamer Neiko Thorpe.

The safeties with Thomas and Chancellor absent? Bradley McDougald and Delano Hill.

It's now the Legion of Whom.

Without Bennett and Avil, and with Clark also skipping OTAs, the first-team defensive line last week was rookie sixth-round pick Jacob Martin, tackles Tom Johnson and Jarran Reed, and end Branden Jackson. Rookie Shaquem Griffin was trying strongside linebacker and dropping deep into pass coverage.

"We’re trying to figure out what everybody can do," Carroll said.

Don't be surprised when preseason games begin in August, and when the real season starts Sept. 9 at Denver, you find yourself asking: "Who are these guys?"

"We've got a young group," quarterback Russell Wilson said of practicing against the defense. "There's a lot that's new and fresh."

It's undeniably the end of an era with the Seahawks' defense — and, with that, the start of a new one. It's the NFL's circle of life.

It's not unlike 2011 and '12 for Seattle. Back then people were wondering, "Who is Kam Chancellor? Wasn't he once a quarterback at Virginia Tech? And this Richard Sherman? Wasn't he a wide receiver at Stanford?"

Now people are saying of rookie cornerback Tre Flowers, who worked on the right side last week: "Wasn't he a safety at Oklahoma State?" Yes, he was. Flowers is a fifth-round pick, as was Sherman. He is 6 feet 3, as is Sherman. Flowers' arms are nearly 34 inches long, almost two inches longer than Sherman's, in Carroll's defense that values length at cornerback.

But Flowers is nowhere near ready to duplicate Sherman's path to becoming a three-time All-Pro cornerback with the Seahawks. And he's still far too busy with a jumbled mind to be talking smack and shoving Seahawks receivers.

Most of that edge doesn't exist on Seattle's defense anymore. At least not in the unique ways Sherman and Bennett sharpened them against their own teammates this time of previous years.

"And for me, personally, I've been on this field for going on eight years now with those guys, coming on this field and 25 is not out the field, it's emotional. And at times it's sad," Baldwin said, referring to Sherman's jersey number, which none of the 90 men on this offseason roster are wearing. "Because growing up in this organization together and in this system, we built something special, as far as the culture and the championship atmosphere."

So it's mostly the unknown challenging the Seahawks entering the 2018 season, especially on defense. Six years ago, it was the same thing—and that turned into Super Bowls for Seattle.

Baldwin's been here for all of it.

"Going into the unknown there is a level of excitement, because we have the opportunity to continue to bridge the gap from has happened in the past and what's new," the 29-year-old wide receiver said. "And, hopefully, we can continue that championship legacy."

Marshall officially joins Seahawks

The team officially announced Wednesday the signing of six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

During OTAs and practices this summer, the team will determine how recovered the 34-year-old Marshall is from the severe ankle injury that ended his only season with the New York Giants last year after just five games and a career-low 18 catches.

The 12-year veteran has six seasons with at least 100 receptions.

Seattle becomes his sixth team in 12 NFL years, after Denver, Miami, Chicago, the Jets and the Giants. The Seahawks were believed to be the only team interested in signing Marshall after the Giants gave up on him April 19.

To make room on the 90-man offseason roster, Seattle waived undrafted rookie fullback Marcus Martin.