The takeaways from the Seahawks preseason Week 2 loss to the Broncos

On Saturday, the Seattle Seahawks continued their preseason by hosting the Denver Broncos in a game that again saw very few starters on either side of the ball for Seattle. With the Hawks’ offensive firepower resting on the sidelines for the second straight week, the team managed only one score to lose the game 30-3.

In view of the defeat – since the preseason is meaningless – some of the questions the team asked themselves as they prepare for the regular season opener against the Indianapolis Colts on September 12th can be rated directly at the food stalls from that competition.

DeeJay Dallas will make the 53-man list

Many fans spent the off-season placing a variety of backs over Dallas on the depth map. Whether Alex Collins finds his 2017 form, Rashaad Penny returns from injury, or undrafted free agent Josh Johnson beat Dallas for last place, there has been no shortage of speculation that Dallas would play anywhere other than Seattle in 2021.

After two preseason games, however, Dallas was one of the few bright spots. He flashed on punt returns, showed good hands and visions in the running game and blocked a punt against the Broncos. At this point, it would be a shock if he didn’t make the list.

Freddie Swain

In the first two games, the Seahawks appear to have rested the players they are sure will survive recent roster cuts, and if the same was the case on Saturday night, it could mean Swain has secured a spot. DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Dee Eskridge are the keys to the team, with a huge group of players battling for three places behind. Swain is the most seasoned youngster fighting for those last spots and he looked sharp in the opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. That meant he wasn’t seeing much time on the field against the Broncos and could suggest that the fourth wide receiver spot has been claimed.

Injuries

One of the things no one wants to see preseason is injuries, but unfortunately for the Hawks it seems like two players battling for depth were lost for the season. There was no official forecast, but Pete Carroll didn’t have a great post-game update on either Ben Burr-Kirven or John Ursua.

For those who watched the NFL GamePass streaming show, while the local broadcast went for commercials, the stream showed the replay of BBK’s knee injury and it wasn’t pretty. It may or may not be when the NFL releases the re-broadcast, but BBK’s knee moved in the wrong direction, like he was one of the aliens in Men In Black with his knees moving backwards. After watching it, it would be a surprise if BBK moving to IR isn’t one of the squad moves the team is making ahead of the 4 p.m. New York Time Tuesday deadline to cut down to 80 players.

Who is playing cornerback?

One of the big questions the team had to ask itself during the preseason was figuring out which cornerbacks would emerge from the competition the team put together during the offseason. Hopes for Ahkello Witherspoon were high, but he sat down early on against Denver and played special teams in the second half. That’s not exactly the look you’d expect from the cheap free agent the team signed, and the fact that their entire $ 4 million contract is guaranteed means there won’t be any savings for Seattle on the If they release him.

That said, if those are the answers the fans are looking for at the cornerback, there wasn’t much to be found in the position in this group. Witherspoon, Tre Brown, Tre Flowers, Damarious Randall, Gavin Heslop and the others all played, but who deserves the nod for Week 1 seems to be as big a question as it was when the training camp opened in July.

The big realization is that the Seahawks need DJ Reed to get well and so anyone, anyone, can step up and claim second place on the grid.

Alex McGough or Sean Mannion?

Geno Smith supports Russell Wilson for a reason, and that was fully flaunted. Obviously, even Wilson would have had trouble executing with the offensive staff the Hawks deployed on Saturday, but that cannot be used to fully excuse the quarterbacks’ performance against Denver. McGough spent the first half demonstrating the opposite of ball safety by throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble. Mannion avoided flipping the ball in the second half, but at times would have given fans the impression that they were watching Captain Checkdown Alex Smith.

Next

The team has to make five moves to have 80 players by Tuesday afternoon, and then the preseason final against the Los Angeles Chargers will be played next Saturday.