Aug. 16-NASHVILLE - Maybe the injuries to Noah Fant and Pharaoh Brown are no big deal.
And as proven vets, neither would likely do much, if anything, in Seattle's final two preseason games regardless of health.
But for the moment, the Seahawks' tight-end depth figures to be tested as they play their second preseason game here Saturday at 4 p.m. PT against the Tennessee Titans.
It's a test that also opens up that much more opportunity for an intriguing set of young players to continue to state their cases for spots on the 53-man roster.
Fant, Seattle's starting tight end, did not take part in Thursday's practice after appearing to leave early in Wednesday's workout with the Titans.
He came to Nashville dealing with a foot injury suffered last week. Coach Mike Macdonald didn't specify if the foot was why Fant was sidelined this week, saying only "I don't have any info on that right now" when asked about Fant.
Brown, who is Fant's listed backup, then suffered the most notable injury here when he hurt his foot on a hard hit by Tennessee cornerback Roger McCreary. Brown was carted off and did not return to action.
"I'm not sure," Macdonald said Thursday when asked about the severity of the injury to Brown. "He's got a foot [injury]. That's about all we know at this point."
Seattle signed Brown, a 30-year-old, eight-year vet and Oregon alum, to a one-year deal worth up to $3.2 million in March after re-signing Fant to a two-year deal worth up to $21 million.
The Seahawks signed Fant and Brown to serve as the core of their tight-end unit after cutting Will Dissly (who signed with the Chargers) and losing Colby Parkinson in free agency to the Rams.
Seattle then drafted AJ Barner out of Michigan in the fourth round and signed former UW and Mt. Si standout Jack Westover to join holdovers Brady Russell and Tyler Mabry in filling out the rest of the position.
The plan is to have Fant serve more as the receiving tight end and Brown more as the blocker, with one or two of the rest completing the group and also serving as core special-teams players.
But if Fant and/or Brown has to miss any extended time - and just by the looks of it, Brown's injury appeared to be potentially more significant than Fant's - the other four will move up the depth chart.
Seattle may likely hope to keep all of them in some fashion, either on the 53 or on the practice squad.
Mabry, who has been with the Seahawks since 2020 mostly on the practice squad but has played in 10 games, is listed third on the team's public depth chart with Russell fourth, Barner fifth and Westover sixth.
But Russell, a second-year player Seattle signed last September off the Eagles' practice squad, appeared to step in to the No. 1 tight end role Thursday, continuing a strong training camp.
Russell scored one of Seattle's two touchdowns in the 16-3 preseason opener against the Chargers on a 13-yard pass-and-mostly-run from Sam Howell, and finished with three receptions for 25 yards.
Russell, a Colorado product who had the second-most special-teams snaps last year for Seattle with 312, also again looms as a key part of kicking and punting units and at this point appears a virtual lock to make the roster.
"Another guy on the team that you just love his mentality, his work ethic," Macdonald said this week. "You guys get bored of me talking about special teams, but I mean this guy carries the torch for us on special teams, especially for [special teams coordinator] Jay [Harbaugh]. Very pleased with where he's at. He can play all phases. He can play different spots, tight end, move him around so gives you flexibility there. I'm just more happy with his mentality and his toughness."
Of the other three, Barner's status as the 121st overall pick - and having played for Harbaugh last year at Michigan - would seem to put him ahead for a roster spot, if not assure it.
Barner didn't put up any stats in the preseason opener but played 32 snaps - 26 either in-line or in the backfield as a blocker, appearing to indicate how Seattle may most want to use him right now. He also played seven on special teams.
Seattle would seem likely to want to keep Mabry around on the practice squad. And the contract Seattle gave Westover also indicated the team's hopes to at least keep him on the practice squad as he got $50,000 of his salary for the 2024 season guaranteed.
Westover played 18 snaps on offense against the Chargers, 13 in-line, one in the backfield as essentially a fullback and the other four split out, according to Pro Football Focus. He had one pass thrown his way and was assessed a drop from PFF.
But Westover and the rest of the backups should get plenty of snaps and chances Saturday as Seattle waits to see how long it may be without either of its top two tight ends.
Titans coach impressed by Seattle WRs
Most who viewed the workouts here judged Seattle's top receivers as generally getting the better of Tennessee's secondary, especially in one-on-one drills.
The caveat is that the Titans were without starting cornerbacks L'Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie and relied on a lot of young players after having undergone a pretty significant makeover of their entire secondary over the past year.
Still, Titans coach Brian Callahan was left impressed by Seattle's wideouts.
"They had a tough task over there," he said of his team's defensive backs. "DK [Metcalf] is as good a receiver as there as in football. I think Jaxon Smith-Njigba is probably one of the better slots as a young player. So they had their hands full. It was a good test for them. Obviously, we don't have Chido and L'Jarius out there. But still, the expectation is when they go out there to play well."
Notes
- The Seahawks held a closed walk-through Friday morning in Nashville after the two joint practices against the Titans on Wednesday and Thursday. The team will fly back to Seattle following Saturday's game and take Sunday off and then resume practices Monday at the VMAC in Renton.
- Among visitors to the joint practices was former Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck, who played the 2011 and 2012 seasons with Tennessee after leaving Seattle. Also on hand was former Seahawks offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson. Hutchinson holds an official title with the Seahawks as "football consultant" working in talent evaluation, and particularly during the lead-up to the draft. But like Hasselbeck, Hutchinson had allegiances to both teams this week as he finished his career with the Titans in 2012.
