Seattle Seahawks’ Center Battle Intensifies as Ethan Pocic Deals With Hamstring Injury

We only enjoyed two days at Seahawks training camp, but the battles for positions have already increased in intensity. One example is the wide receiver # 3 spot where Dee Eskridge, who starts camp on the PUP list, tore open the area. Ty Dane Gonzalez of Seahawk Maven reported on it Friday. However, another mandatory duel takes place in the center.

Seattle re-signed 2017 second-round pick Ethan Pocic on a one-year deal worth $ 2 million this off-season. While the calendar changes to August, the reigning start center Pocic is maintaining a thigh injury that has given the few men below him on the depth table an enormous opportunity.

“Ethan came into the camp with an excruciating hamstring thing,” Pete Carroll told reporters at his opening news conference on July 28th. “He went through the full walkthrough today, but we didn’t use it. We’ll keep him alive in all walkthrough snapshots. Like Duane [Brown], get a lot of repetitions on the first workout of the day. And then make sure that we wait and see. “

How long the waiting process for Pocic will take remains unclear. Pocic, who will turn 26 in August, has already missed two training sessions and is expected to be out until at least the end of next week. Our own Corbin Smith, who attended all of the Seahawks’ exercises, reported the situation on Friday:

“There was a status that we could have put on, PUP or NFI stuff and all that, but we thought it would be better for development, for all of us, if we could keep it out and be patient and make sure we could Don’t push him back, ”Carroll stated.

Pocic’s participation in turnkey solutions means he won’t be left behind when it comes to Shane Waldron’s new offensive installation. If the Seahawks had decided to put Pocic on the PUP or NFI list, the center would not have been able to participate in the full solutions.

However, the element of competition is fascinating. When Carroll was asked which position battle he was most looking forward to this summer, the coach’s thoughts immediately wandered towards the center.

“There are a number of them, there are a number of positions that the boys are fighting for for the game,” Carroll began. “I don’t know if it’s a starter or not, even though Kyle Fuller is ready to fight Pocic.”

Seattle’s undrafted Free Agent Center Pier-Olivier Lestage has started camp on the non-soccer injury list. The Seahawks also have Brad Lundblade on their roster, a 2018 undrafted free agent. The clear advantage, however, lies with Fuller, a man who is entering his fourth year in the league.

“It’s giving Kyle Fuller a fantastic opportunity to show what he’s going to do and, you know, in competition we want this Willy Pipp thing to happen,” said Carroll.

The 27-year-old Fuller was drafted by the Baylor Texans in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft. In 2019, the Seahawks signed the 6-foot-5,320-pounder to their training team. Seattle then offered him as a free agent with exclusive rights after the 2020 season.

At the NFL Combine, Fuller measured with 34 1/8 inch arms, which is a huge plus for the Seahawks considering how much they value arm length (they usually look for 33 inches or more inside the offensive line). Fuller started with just one game in 2020; It was a nightmarish road trip to Los Angeles in week 10, where a Pocic with a concussion took off against Aaron Donald and the Rams’ line of defense. Now he has a chance for more regular actions.

His chances look more promising considering how the Seahawks organization sees Pocic. After all, Seattle doesn’t rate Pocic as highly as you might initially think. Even before the former LSU alum’s thigh injury occurred, I thought of the center position as a training camp storyline to keep an eye on. I explained:

“The team has already tried to replace / aggressively advance Pocic by signing BJ Finney during last year’s free agency time. In the end, Pocic won the job after Finney showed up to camp out of shape, and the latter was eventually moved in exchange for Cincinnati [Carlos] Dunlap.

“Pocic is a solid center. However, his weaknesses are constant and limit certain elements of the offensive. For example: He fights in one-on-one in pass protection or in the running game, which could really frustrate Waldron in his attempts.” his center to get blockdudes one-on-one in runs outside the zone.