The Seattle Seahawks suffered their first loss in the Mike Macdonald era when they lost 16-15 to the Tennessee Titans in the second preseason game between the two teams at Nissan Stadium on Saturday night.

However, individual performances are more important than the outcome of the game. Macdonald and Titans head coach Brian Callahan rested many of their starters so their reserve players could compete for their jobs. For some of Seattle’s reserves, Saturday’s game was a very positive one, as they increased their value with strong performances. For others, their lack of playmaking may have hurt their chances of making the 53-man roster. Now that Seattle’s second exhibition game is complete, let’s take stock of the roster.

Stock up

Quarterback Sam Howell

Howell completed 11 of 14 passes for 153 yards and a 23-yard touchdown to receiver Easop Winston Jr. in the first quarter. He was sacked twice and fumbled once, although Seattle recovered the ball. One of Howell’s passes was dropped by tight end Brady Russell on a play that would have gained 15 yards.

Howell had four explosive passes (16 or more yards) against the Titans: The 23-yard go-ball to Winston, a 17-yard completion in the flat to rookie tight end AJ Barner on third-and-2, a 33-yard strike down the seam to receiver Cody White and a short pass to receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. for 18 yards to set up a blitz. Seattle’s backup quarterback had only two passes that didn’t reach his receiver’s hands: A deep shot to receiver Jake Bobo to start the final drive of the first half and a crossing route that flew well over Bobo’s head on the first series. Howell ran twice and gained 11 yards.

Howell’s completions to White and Winston were his best throws of the preseason, and his ability to find answers to Tennessee’s blitzes showed he was more comfortable in Ryan Grubb’s offense. PJ Walker hadn’t really threatened Howell’s status as Geno Smith’s replacement, but Howell’s development from one game to the next is encouraging.

Sop for six! 🤌 pic.twitter.com/FeioECkS8M

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) 17 August 2024

WR Laviska Shenault Jr.

Shenault caught all three passes aimed at him for 27 yards, and two of those passes resulted in first downs. He also left a couple of defenders running into empty space on a jet sweep for 5 yards. He didn’t return a kickoff this week, but he did make a lead block on cornerback Dee Williams, who gained 41 yards on the game’s opening return. Shenault is doing everything he can to make the roster, and his playmaking should put him in the WR5 spot heading into the final week of the preseason.

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OLB Derick Hall

The Seahawks want the game to slow down for Hall in his second season, just as it did for Boye Mafe in 2023. Hall had a sack and four solo tackles against the Chargers last week and was effective again against the Titans. The 37th pick in the 2023 draft had three solo tackles, four quarterback pressures and a sack in the first quarter, where he fought his way through backup tackle Jaelyn Duncan on third-and-12 to get to quarterback Malik Willis.

D Hall and Boye caught him 😤 pic.twitter.com/52svfa5klh

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) 17 August 2024

Hall also had two run stuffs on two snaps on early downs. Those plays are just as valuable as the sacks because the outside linebackers in this scheme don’t get many opportunities to pressure the passer on third down if they’re not trusted to stop the run on early downs. That could earn Hall more snaps in the regular season than someone like Darrell Taylor, who had two pressures and a solo tackle in 23 defensive snaps on Saturday.

RB Kenny McIntosh

For the second week in a row, McIntosh was Seattle’s best runner. Against the Titans, he carried the ball eight times for 46 yards and also had two catches for 17 yards. He is battling for the RB3 job with undrafted rookie George Holani, who managed just 3 yards on two carries against the Titans.

McIntosh once again showed off his quickness and poise under contact, fighting through defenders, outpacing tacklers and dropping forward to create explosive runs. He averaged 5.8 yards per run with a 43.8 percent success rate last season. By comparison, the league’s average success rate among qualified running backs was 36.9 percent last season.

McIntosh still needs to improve, though. He struggled in pass defense and allowed a sack against the Chargers. Then on Saturday, he brought down left tackle Stone Forsythe as he was getting into his route, leading to a strip sack by Howell (Forsythe intercepted the ball again to avoid the loss).

WR Easop Winston Jr.

Winston scored Seattle’s only touchdown when he beat cornerback Tre Avery down the field in the first quarter. He led the team with 47 yards on three catches. Assuming Shenault will be the team’s fifth receiver, Winston, Dareke Young, Dee Eskridge and White are theoretically competing for one spot. Winston (five catches, 77 yards) is Seattle’s leading receiver after two preseason games and has a 10-yard punt return. Young has four catches for 49 yards and has been involved in kickoff returns (he had a 27-yard return on Saturday). White has three catches for 63 yards. Eskridge is out with an injury.

Numbers are only part of the evaluation, but it is a testament to Winston that, as Macdonald said Saturday, he “plays when he has the opportunity.”

Inventory is decreasing

RG Anthony Bradford

Bradford practiced with the second offensive line on Thursday, while third-round rookie Christian Haynes took his place with the starters. Haynes was penalized for a false start on Saturday, so it’s not like he had a perfect game as the starting left guard, but from Bradford’s perspective, losing his job to a rookie — even temporarily — is not a good sign.

Film of Saturday’s game allows for a more accurate assessment of Bradford’s performance, but there were some obvious issues, such as when he was beaten by undrafted rookie defensive tackle Isaiah Iton, who sent Holani to the ground on a red-zone run in the second quarter without gaining any yards.

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QB PJ Walker

Walker completed 4 of 8 passes for 38 yards and was sacked on third-and-7 attempts in the third quarter. Accuracy continues to be an issue for Walker, who doesn’t always give his receivers a chance to make plays. He had two consecutive inaccurate over-the-shoulder throws to Hayden Hatten and Winston in the third quarter (the latter was nullified by an excessive force penalty, but it still wasn’t a good ball).

Walker also appeared to misread a third-and-2 pass to White in the fourth quarter (as co-commentator Mike Robinson noted, running back Kobe Lewis was free in the flat for a first down).

Walker has been in the league for eight seasons, so as far as backup quarterbacks go, he’s more experienced than the other players Seattle would likely consider for that regular-season practice player job. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Seattle started looking around the league this week to see what options are out there.

WR Dee Eskridge

Eskridge had a 22-yard run against the Chargers but failed to catch a single ball. He missed Tennessee’s week of practice with an injury and was inactive on Saturday. Eskridge was selected 56th overall in 2021 with the assumption he would do everything we see from Shenault – produce special teams plays as a returner, provide gadget plays as a runner and record chain catches as a receiver. The rise of Shenault has put Eskridge’s status in jeopardy.

RB George Holani

Holani’s first run against the Titans was an attempt to get to the edge that was unsuccessful due to blocking on the perimeter. His second run was stopped for no gain because of Bradford. Those plays aren’t necessarily Holani’s fault, but if McIntosh – his rival for play-calling – is making plays every week, it would help Holani to do the same. His 11-yard touchdown run against the Chargers was a good start, but since then he’s only gained 16 yards on seven carries.

Centre-back

After the game, Macdonald said Jerome Baker is expected to be ready to play in Week 1, although it’s not yet clear when the new free agent will be able to practice. Until he practices, Seattle’s inside linebackers are hard to judge. Rookie Tyrice Knight had eight tackles on Saturday, but received only lukewarm reviews from his coach afterward.

“Very happy with the tackles,” Macdonald said. “Time to go to the next level in terms of communication, blitzing, coverage, play recognition. It’s almost like saying, ‘Hey man, you’re not a rookie anymore, you’ve got to grow up fast, you’ve got to be ready to go when your number is called. Let’s go man, let’s not be satisfied with making tackles in the preseason.'”

Patrick O’Connell had a few nice plays, including one in coverage that forced a fumble that safety Ty Okada picked off in the fourth quarter. But it’s unlikely Seattle would feel comfortable starting him, Jon Rhattigan (who returned to the game on Saturday) or Blake Lynch if something were to happen to one of the other linebackers in the lineup.

(Photo: John Amis / Associated Press)

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