Good morning, 12s. Here's a look at what's out there today — Friday, April 7 — about your Seattle Seahawks.

Seahawks GM John Schneider Talks Draft Prep & More On Seattle Sports 710AM

With just 20 days to go until the 2023 NFL Draft, Seattle continues to make moves to prepare their board while also making adjustments to the current roster. On this week’s episode of Seattle Sports 710AM’s John Schneider Show, the Seahawks general manager discusses the tough decision to move on from safety Ryan Neal, finalizing the draft board and shares a few funny stories about being on the clock.

With college pro days coming to an end, teams began to host players for private workouts this week - including Seattle. Despite being in an undisclosed location while meeting with a prospect, Schneider joined in with 710AM co-hosts Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton to discuss the importance of the training staff for precise medicals on athletes.

"Yeah," said Schneider. "Thanks for asking, because it's a huge part of our process. Our scouts do a great job all the way through the spring and into the fall in trying to collect as much information as they possibly can. And then the medical staff, trainers, [David] Stricklin, Sam [Ramsden], Dr. [E.Ed Khalfayan]. Everybody that's involved through the combine, and then all the information we're getting on non-combine prospects. And the 30 guys we're bringing in that we need to get physicals on. It's a huge process, and it takes a lot of time. We actually had a three-hour meeting last night grinding out the grades with medical staff, all the docs and everything. It always hurts when we have to take guys off the board for medical reasons. But everybody grades differently, all the teams grade differently. Hopefully some guys don't come off, some guys will be on some boards and some won't. Just really appreciative for all the effort that goes into it. We had that long meeting last night, got out of there, and got up early this morning and jumped on a plane. Headed back to the airport now."

Safety Ryan Neal came to Seattle in 2019 after stops in Philadelphia and Atlanta. Over the last four seasons, the Indiana native has grown to become a favorite for the front office, teammates and fans alike. 2022 was Neal’s best season, earning the high rankings and All-Pro honors from Pro Football Focus (86.5). Schneider opened this week's episode with an explanation for Seattle rescinding Neal's tender offer and why it was a "tough" decision.

"We would've loved to have Ryan on our squad this year," said Schneider. "Unfortunately, great guy, great player, great competitor. He did a great job working with the staff, and the staff did a great job developing him over the last several years. Unfortunately, there is a process to free agency. The reality of it, there's different phases and there's different consequences. You're obviously competing as much as you can, and making as many deals as you possibly can. And figuring out what you can and can't do. We did a number of things to advance our team and help out as many positions as we possibly could. We had to remove the tender for Ryan and he ended up choosing to go to Tampa for what he felt was a better opportunity. We never close the door, obviously you guys see that - and he'll be a free agent next year."

Schneider shared a funny story about the rigors of interviews and visits in-person versus online, and the possibility of players not being interested in coming to the Seahawks.

"The Zoom part," said Schneider. "We've had mistakes there too. We interviewed a guy several years ago on a Zoom, it was actually a COVID-19 year. It was like he wanted nothing to do with us, he was laying in his bed; it looked like he was playing video games or something. Lights were all turned off, we're like 'This guy is not a guy'. And then, he ends up going to Pro Bowls and stuff."

The draft process is rigorous and unpredictable and so is free agency. Tune in to this week’s episode of The John Schneider Show to hear more about how the Seahawks front office is preparing for the 2023 season.

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More from Around The Web

Here at Seahawks.com, a look at how the culture created by Pete Carroll, John Schneider and others contributes to players like Bobby Wagner and Jarran Reed returning to the team.

Also at Seahawks.com, Julian Love met with the media to discuss his decision to sign with Seattle in free agency.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times: Julian Love thinks he’s found perfect fit with Seahawks wherever they want to use him.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times: Analysis: Looking at Seahawks’ 10 prospective picks in 2023 NFL draft.

Brandon Gustafson of Seattle Sports 710 AM: Bumpus: What Seahawks are losing with Ryan Neal, who can replace him.

Brandon Gustafson of Seattle Sports 710 AM: ​​Seahawks Draft Profile: ‘Explosive’ Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith.

Mike Salk of Seattle Sports 710 AM: Salk: Ranking Seahawks’ 5 options with the No. 5 overall pick.