Seahawks 2026 training camp, Day 9: recap News, notes, and updates

It was another day of Seattle Seahawks training camp in Renton, albeit not in the best of conditions. The terrifying and deadly wildfires in Spokane have impacted and will impact the Seattle area throughout the week. Winds have blown the wildfire smoke in a westerly direction, which has decreased the air quality through thick throughout Western Washington on an otherwise very warm Tuesday. With Wednesday’s forecast set to be worse in terms of air quality, there is a chance that practice could be held indoors, but we’ll see how it goes. As I type this from my hotel room in Renton, the air quality index (AQI) is a moderate 99, but that’s borderline unhealthy.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to everyone affected in the Spokane region.

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Here are the news and notes from Day 9 of camp.

Seahawks training camp news and notes

The defense barks back

If you’ve read previous recaps and just watched the season premiere of ‘Hard Knocks’, you would think the Seahawks offense was making the Seahawks defense look like it was 2023 all over again. And while there’s perhaps a kernel of truth there given Mike Macdonald’s palpable dissatisfaction with the defensive performances in practice (including the first padded one), the NFL’s best defense was not going to just roll over.

From the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta:

The Seahawks were in full pads for the third time in camp Tuesday, and near the end conducted a few series of scrimmage sessions between the No. 1 offense and defense.

The defense stopped the offense three-and-out on the first series when Sam Darnold couldn’t connect with Rashid Shaheed down the sidelines on third and long, with Nehemiah Pritchett, who appears to be winning the battle for the third corner spot, providing tight coverage.

That line re Pritchett is definitely interesting and would be a continuation of his improvement from his second season.

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Here’s more from Seahawks.com’s John Boyle:

During one portion of practice that operated like a modified scrimmage the No. 1 offense was twice stopped by the starting defense without scoring, and the No. 2 defense also was stymied by the No. 2 defense. There were also fewer big plays in general from the offense, and plenty of plays that stood out on defense, from multiple pass breakups by Ty Okada to an impressive run stop in the backfield by Ernest Jones IV, to Uchenna Nwosu releasing from the tackle blocking him to leap and bat down a Darnold pass.

Ty Okada with the advantage over Bud Clark in the safety competition

Also from Bob Condotta:

While rookie safety Bud Clark has gotten some work with the No. 1 defense the past few practices, Ty Okada continues to work most consistently with the top defense alongside Love.

Okada and Love got all the snaps as the deep safeties with the starters during the scrimmage sessions Tuesday, with Clark subbing in for a few plays as a third safety and working as a deep safety with the backup units.

This is not a big surprise. If Okada starts over Clark it doesn’t mean Clark will be some sort of afterthought on defense. He’s been given a lot of responsibilities over the first couple of weeks of camp, and even the best rookies in history don’t just ascend that easily. Okada played very well in the absence of Coby Bryant and Julian Love last year, so I think this isn’t revelatory. We can still see Clark in a three-safety look, for example. And there’s still plenty of time for developments in the competition.

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Brian Fleury critiques the run game

The new Seahawks offensive coordinator doesn’t sound like he’s too satisfied with how the new-look running game is performing. Of course, Zach Charbonnet is out due to injury but this may speak to more of the overall picture of blocking and making the right reads from the running back perspective.

“I want us to be better. We are moving in the right direction. We have been efficient in practice, but I see things through a different lens. It’s not the success of the play on the practice field. I’m looking at everyone’s alignment and technique and there’s a lot of room for growth there. Not to say that we’re doing poorly but I expect that to be an extremely reliable portion of our game and it’s not there yet.”

Tory Horton keeps on practicing

This may seem like a nothing story, but given Horton’s recovery from a cracked tibia, it’s worth monitoring how much he’s practicing in camp. He had one maintenance day in the first week of camp and that seems to be it. Horton has ramped up nicely and is getting his work in with Sam Darnold. Last year he was a camp star, this year it’s about knocking off the rust and making that second-year leap after a promising (albeit truncated) rookie campaign.