Seattle Seahawks Training Camp Takeaways: Tempers Flare in Intense 13th Practice

Ready to hit someone else for a change, a flurry of fights broke out in the Seahawks latest padded practice, leading to a pair of ejections by Mike Macdonald.

Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf watches from the sideline during a training camp practice at the VMAC. / Corbin Smith/Seahawks On SI

RENTON, Wash. - As typically happens during an NFL training camp, with the Seattle Seahawks now in their third week of preparation for the 2024 season, players may be getting a bit tired of hitting one another on the practice field.

Back in full pads after only wearing helmets on Tuesday, the VMAC nearly turned into a Royal Rumble event as five different fights broke out over the course of practice. Most notably, as caught on camera by NFL Network, receiver DK Metcalf got into a heated exchange with cornerback Tre Brown in the end zone, ripping off his helmet and eventually throwing it at safety K'Von Wallace, which led to coach Mike Macdonald stopping practice in an effort to calm the situation.

"We're right on the line right now," Macdonald told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, adding that Metcalf spoke to the team after practice. "It was positive and the guys are in a good spot."

Before Metcalf and Brown's tussle, the fourth-year cornerback started the animosity on a run play early in the team period when he and Jake Bobo got into it after the whistle. Bobo took off his helmet and attempted to shove the defender, who retaliated by landing a sucker punch right in the nose that required treatment from the training staff. Moments later, just one snap after tight end Pharaoh Brown and linebacker Tyrel Dodson had to be separated in the end zone, Brown said something that got underneath Metcalf's skin, leading to the helmet toss and Macdonald's practice stoppage.

From there, tempers flared again when undrafted rookie cornerback Carlton Johnson didn't take kindly to Dee Eskridge extending his run block beyond the whistle. Coaches and teammates had to rush in to break them up and they continued to jaw back-and-forth for several plays afterward.

Capping off the brawl fest, rookie guard Christian Haynes and edge rusher Derick Hall went head-to-head in Seattle's 1-on-1 blocking drill. Apparently not happy with how long Haynes maintained his block, Hall retaliated by shoving the blocker from behind and the two wound up on the ground with teammates hovering over them. Macdonald sprinted over from the 7-on-7 drill and sent both players to the showers early by kicking them out of practice.

After that point, the Seahawks were able to get things back under control with a couple of fight-free team periods and wrapped up with their helmets off to conduct a walkthrough, helping in the efforts to keep cooler heads prevailing.

Following an eventful session, here are four additional takeaways from Wednesday's latest padded camp practice:

1. Continuing to gradually improve, Sam Howell enjoyed his best practice to date with receivers actually finishing catches.

Accuracy has been a persistent issue for Howell in his first camp with the Seahawks, but in his defense, he hasn't exactly received much support from his receivers, including Eskridge dropping a pair of potential touchdowns in Tuesday's session. Fortunately for the third year gunslinger, the team's second string receivers showed up ready to play on Wednesday, and the quarterback delivered with his finest practice overall to this point.

In the first red zone period, orchestrating the second unit only a few plays after Metcalf and Brown had to be split up, Howell dumped off a quick throw to Bobo in the flats after coming out of the backfield for a quick touchdown. Later in the practice, he used his eyes to lure to the secondary towards the left sideline before firing a dart down the seam to Brady Russell, who beat rookie cornerback Dee Williams inside for a 30-yard touchdown.

As part of an impressive finish for Seattle's offense that culminated with touchdown drives by all three units, Howell saved arguably his best throw of camp for last. On literally the first snap after Geno Smith throw a touchdown to Metcalf, he launched a perfectly thrown deep ball to Laviska Shenault, hitting the receiver in stride with plenty of air under the throw after he beat rookie Nehemiah Pritchett on a go ball for another 35-yard touchdown strike.

Howell won't be threatening Smith for the starting job in the present, but after a difficult start to camp, he has made significant progress over the past several practices and the coaching staff will be eager to see how he plays in the preseason opener on Saturday with a bit of positive momentum.

2. After getting bopped in the schnoz, Bobo gets his vengeance on Brown and then some.

Not one to normally lose his cool, Bobo didn't appreciate whatever Brown said to him as the two became locked up on a run play, and the second-year wideout took fist to the face as a result. But after a brief meeting with trainers to get checked out, he stood out as one of Seattle's biggest positives on offense for the afternoon, starting with a bit of revenge on Brown.

Lined up on the outside with Brown opposite of him, Bobo took an outside release down the sideline and after initially backpedaling, the cornerback sat in a shallow zone, clearly expecting safety help over the top. But that help never came, allowing the receiver to come wide open as Smith lofted an easy 75-yard touchdown to him without any defenders in his zip code. Brown seemed to take responsibility for the coverage breakup by tapping his chest while communicating with teammates.

Continuing to shine in his second training camp, Bobo found the end zone twice and also made a clutch first down catch in a third down situational drill from Smith, hanging onto the football with two defenders draped on him. While he'll likely have a sore nose when he wakes up tomorrow morning, his toughness and resolve will certainly stand out to Macdonald and the coaching staff.

3. Away from fighting, Seattle's trifecta of starting cornerbacks took center stage getting hands on the football.

While his post-snap theatrics were a negative, Brown rebounded from his earlier scuffles and the busted coverage on Bobo's second touchdown to live up to his "Big Play Tre" nickname. On the play after allowing the long scoring toss, he demonstrated short term memory by undercutting a curl route by Metcalf, tipping the ball up in the air to himself and managing to secure the deflection for a fantastic interception as he fell to the ground.

After that play, the rest of Seattle's starting secondary got in on the act, starting with Devon Witherspoon registering his first interception of camp during 7-on-7. Matchup on the outside against Metcalf, he stayed in phase with the receiver on a fade route and boxed out the receiver, allowing him to pick off Smith as he shielded Metcalf from getting to the football. Making sure the offense knew who caught the ball, he paraded around the field shouting to the delight of defensive teammates, and later added a tackle for loss on a blitz.

Not to be outdone, while Riq Woolen didn't have an interception of his own, he may have had the best play by a cornerback all day in the final team period. After getting beat initially by Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a skinny post route, the third-year cornerback used his sub-4.30 speed to make up ground rapidly and extended his left arm to knock down what would have been a 40-yard touchdown, firing up defensive backs coach Karl Scott on the sideline.

4. The third down running back competition remains a stalemate and a new contender may be quietly entering the mix.

The addition of Connor Williams may mean the center competition has concluded, but that is far from the case at running back behind Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. To this point, undrafted rookie George Holani has closed the gap on second-year runner Kenny McIntosh, drawing praise from offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb after Tuesday's practice, and both players had strong days on Wednesday while splitting reps with the first and second-team offenses.

During a situation team drill where each offense started just outside of the red zone at the 25-yard line, McIntosh weaved off of a down block by center Nick Harris and rocketed past Seattle's linebackers, sprinting his way into the end zone. Two plays later, Holani equaled him, bouncing an inside zone run off tackle and outrunning a trio of defenders to the pylon for a score of his own on the same play where Eskridge and Johnson had to be separated at the goal line.

As evidenced on Wednesday, Holani may not be the only undrafted running back with sights on a roster spot, however. Former Florida Atlantic standout Kobe Lewis made a name for himself earlier in the week with a pancake during 1-on-1 pass protection work against Seattle's linebackers and he followed up with one of the longest runs of camp, turning on the afterburners after center Jalen Sundell and guard Max Pircher opened up a hole the size of a semi truck for him, racing 59 yards down the right sideline for the score.

If Lewis can keep stacking days and continue to flash as a runner and pass protector in preseason play, the Seahawks may have a three-horse race for the third down role with Holani and McIntosh still likely in the driver's seat, making it arguably the most compelling competition on offense right now.