For the first time since 2010, the Seattle Seahawks could potentially have two new starters at the safety positions defensively.

Earlier this week, star safety Earl Thomas announced he would not participate in any team-related activities until the Seahawks properly addressed his contract situation. Seattle also will likely enter the season without hard-hitting safety Kam Chancellor, whose career could be in jeopardy due to a neck injury.

Luckily, Seattle has been preparing for life without the perennial Pro Bowlers over the past few years, with re-signing Bradley McDougald to a three-year extension being the most significant step.

McDougald, 27, surprised many when he opted to sign a one-year contract with the Seahawks prior to the 2017 season. He enjoyed a career year with the Buccaneers in 2016, recording 91 tackles, two interceptions, and 10 passes defensed. With experience playing both safety spots, the versatile defender provided outstanding insurance for the Legion of Boom.

With Thomas and Chancellor still under contract, Seattle anticipated McDougald being a key cog on special teams and intended to deploy him in special defensive packages alongside the two star safeties.

Most notably, the Seahawks planned to have all three players on the field together as part of their “big nickel” package. In a normal nickel defense, teams replace the third linebacker on the field with an extra cornerback to help defend opposing passing attacks. In this instance, McDougald would replace the third linebacker and provide a bigger, more physical alternative who could still cover slot receivers as well as tight ends.

Once Chancellor suffered his season-ending neck injury, however, Seattle scrapped those plans and McDougald was thrust into a starting role as his replacement. Appearing in all 16 games and starting nine of them filling in for either Thomas or Chancellor, he finished the season with a respectable 67 tackles and four passes defensed.

Unsure of Chancellor’s future, Seattle knew it had to retain McDougald, and his re-signing becomes far more critical with Thomas opting to hold out. Now, Seattle has to consider where he’ll play if the team doesn’t have either one of its defensive stalwarts when training camp opens.

While McDougald has played free safety and could start there in a pinch, he admitted on Wednesday that he’s more comfortable playing near the line of scrimmage and would pick strong safety if he had a choice.

“I like to be in the box, I like to be in the box a little bit more,” McDougald said. “I just feel like there’s a little more action, it’s a little bit more my speed of the game.”

A strong tackler, McDougald has thrived playing a role similar to the one Chancellor held for many years in Seattle. Though not near as big as his predecessor, he put several tight ends on lock down after entering the starting lineup, including holding Zach Ertz to two receptions for 24 yards in the Seahawks 24-10 win over the Eagles.

It’s clear McDougald is at his best playing strong safety, but in a world without Thomas in center field, the Seahawks have to decide where he’s most valuable to the team as currently constructed. No matter where he lines up, Seattle will likely be rolling out an unproven youngster at the other safety spot.

If Seattle wants to give second-year safety Delano Hill the first crack at replacing Chancellor instead, it would be a logical transition. The team would love to see what it has in the 2017 third-round pick, as the 6-foot-1, 215-pound defender has the look of an NFL strong safety and excels at stopping the run.

Comparatively, if Seattle wants to keep McDougald in the box, they could try 2017 fourth-round pick Tedric Thompson at free safety. Like Hill, he hardly played as a rookie aside from special teams duty. However, he recorded 13 interceptions during his last three seasons at Colorado and has the ball skills to develop into a steady single-high safety with experience.

In yet another option, the front office could also explore the free agency market. Quality young safeties such as Tre Boston and Eric Reid remain unsigned and available, though this option seems unrealistic unless Seattle opts to trade Thomas and consequently creates cap space.

As camp approaches, the Seahawks have to weigh these alternatives and decide where McDougald benefits his team the most. His comments and recent performance indicate he’s at his best playing near the line of scrimmage, but the free safety position is vital to coach Pete Carroll’s defensive scheme and he offers far more experience playing the position than Thompson or anyone else on the roster.

Ultimately, the Seahawks have to field the best 11-man defensive unit they can heading into the 2018 season. In a perfect world, Thomas and the team will make amends and the star safety will eventually return to action, and there’s still time for this to happen. Still, Seattle must prepare to enter the season without him, whether it wants to or not.

There are plenty of questions marks in regards to the readiness of Hill and Thompson as well as Thomas’s future, but Seattle can take solace in the fact McDougald’s versatility provides much-needed options. He’ll do “whatever the team needs to win,” and his ability to play both spots effectively will give the coaching staff the luxury of being able to take extended looks at both Hill and Thompson before making a final decision.