The Seahawks released Joey Hunt, their most recent starting center, on Sunday. (Getty)
In all my years covering the Seahawks and the NFL, I have never seen a day of training camp as we witnessed it on Tuesday.
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Typically, the camp reporting days are new. The 2020 training camp reporting date was strange. Everyone expected many positive tests for COVID-19. That number continues to grow as tests on Tuesday should start to get results on Wednesdays and Thursdays and more tests will be done on Thursday.
But the big surprise was the amount of foreclosure options. Due to the virus, players were expected to skip this season and wait until next year. The initial list is over 30 and more could be added in the coming days. Players have until next Tuesday to opt for the season.
Not waste time. Let’s look at some of the things we learned during the start of training camp.
• Big players were more likely to choose not to participate. That is understandable. Offensive linemen and defensive tackle dominated the list. Defensive tackles Star Lotulelei (Buffalo), Michael Pierce (Minnesota), Eddie Goldman (Chicago), Kyle Peko (Denver), Eddie Vanderdoss (Dallas) and Celeb Brantley (Washington) decided to skip the season. Tackers Nate Solder (New York Giants), Andre Smith (Baltimore), Laurent Tardif (Kansas City), Marcus Cannon (New England) and Chance Warmack (Seahawks) chose not to participate. It’s understandable. The top players on the team may be more vulnerable to contracting the virus. Some may have had sleep apnea problems. Others may have had pre-existing conditions like Solder and Cannon.
• The other trend was for players who may have wives awaiting the birth of a baby or who a young family may choose not to participate. Not surprisingly, wide receiver Marquise Goodwin of the Philadelphia Eagles has been shut out. His wife has had two miscarriages in recent years. New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung opted for a young family.
• The Patriots were the hardest hit with six players who chose not to participate. Four were incoming. The Pats lost Cannon, Chung, linebacker Don’t’a Hightower, fullback Dan Vitale, running back Brandon Bolden and defensive end Najee Toran. The Patriots were among the league leaders in missed starts last year. Now they are the most changed team we have seen in recent years.
• The Seahawks came to the opening of training camp in very good shape so far. Warmack was the only option for exclusion. His offensive line is thinner for the experience with Warmack’s opt-out and shooting by offensive linemen Joey Hunt and Jordan Roos. They signed all of their preliminary elections and have over $ 12 million capitalization.
• Three NFC playoff teams suffered a few hits. The Eagles had one of the worst receiving units in the football year. They don’t think Alshon Jeffery is doing much for the team this year. They changed to Goodwin, who gave them more speed. That option is gone. The Green Bay Packers didn’t do much at wide receiver other than adding Devin Funchess to a $ 2.5 million one-year contract. It was a major blow to the Minnesota Vikings to lose to Michael Pierce. Top problems forced them to eliminate five defense starters. They cut defensive tackle Linval Joseph, but they felt good about getting Pierce, their only great free-agent signing. Now it’s gone. Not well.
• The biggest mystery was that Tennessee Titans linebacker Vic Beasley did not report. Beasley signed a one-year, $ 9.5 million contract to play as outside linebacker. He missed the first two days and has not contacted the team. The Titans have kept in touch with Jadeveon Clowney. If Beasley isn’t going to play this year, the Titans may be willing to spend more money to sign him. Beasley is on the no-report list.
Follow John Clayton of 710 ESPN Seattle on Twitter.
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