The Seahawks opened training camp Thursday morning with a mostly healthy 90-man roster, with several key players taking part in practice after missing most or all of offseason workouts, a group that included running back Chris Carson and safety Bradley McDougald, both of whom had offseason knee surgeries.
"It was great to see the depth all across the board—the offensive line, the receiver group, up front on the defensive line, our linebacker group is a good, healthy group we're excited about," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "It's just good to see all these guys out here ready to go, we're in good shape right now."
That being said, there are still players working their way back from injuries sustained in 2018 or from offseason surgeries. Here's a rundown of what Carroll said about those players:
DE Ziggy Ansah
While Ansah, a key free-agent acquisition, isn't a full-go just yet, the fact that he didn't open camp on the physically unable to perform list is an encouraging sign. Keeping Ansah, who had shoulder surgery last season, on the active roster and not on PUP allows him to take part in walkthrough practices before he's ready for full-contact work.
"He is moving great, he's in terrific shape already," Carroll said. "We're just going to ease our way into these days and see how he can handle the work. Don't want to rush it. We had the thought all along it would probably be all the way through camp, so the fact that he isn't on PUP now and he's going to get work—he'll be in walkthroughs today—so he can actively be involved. I am concerned about just mixing him into the group, and I don't want him to be on the side until he comes back, so this has worked out well. He's got a great attitude about it, he's going to learn well, but I want him to mix, I want our guys to feel him and understand him too. So I think we've made a great decision here."
Asked if Ansah will be ready for the regular-season opener, Carroll said, "I'm not holding out anything but that he's going to be. I'm just thinking that he is, and then we'll see what happens from there."
Carroll added that Ansah's shoulder is fully healed, and that the only issue now is making sure his strength is built all the way back up.
"His shoulder is healed, it's solid," he said. "They did all of the retesting again the last couple of days to ensure that… It's a matter of getting stronger and making sure he's really secure before we go."
TE Will Dissly
Like Ansah, Dissly is recovering from a significant injury sustained in 2018, and like Ansah, Dissly is not on the PUP list to open camp. While Dissly isn't a full-go yet, he's ahead of schedule in his comeback from the patellar tendon injury that ended his promising rookie campaign after just four games.
"We're going to take it easy on Will as we go," Carroll said. "We didn't know if he would be ready to start camp. Months ago, we were waiting to see, we were always hoping for this. He made it. We'll just kind of ease him in, but he's in great shape, looks good, and really is well ahead of probably the schedule some people would have for him."
S Lano Hill
Hill, who fractured his hip in Week 17 after playing well in consecutive starts, is making good progress and is running, but he is not quite ready to practice yet and opened camp on the PUP list.
"Lano is going to be a little bit longer," Carroll said. "He hasn't had a chance to do all of the movement yet. He's running, he's healthy, but we have to get him in condition to do the running that's called for on the football field. So it might be another week or so or 10 days or something like that. If it's a little bit longer, obviously we'll have to deal with that, but it's close. He's in really good shape and he's really excited about being back."
S Marquise Blair
Blair, a second-round pick out of Utah, injured his hamstring during offseason workouts and was placed on PUP when rookies reported last week, but he should be back soon.
"Marquise, he passed his physical, he'll be with us here in the next couple of days," Carroll said. "He'll be in the walkthroughs and stuff like that."
Photos of fans attending 2019 Seahawks Training Camp, presented by Safeway on Thursday, July 25 at Renton's Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
LB Ben Burr-Kirven
Burr-Kirven, a fifth-round pick out of Washington, had sports hernia surgery this offseason, but is close to returning.
"He is on the verge of being with us," Carroll said. "He's just proving to the trainers that he can do all of the activities. He's running full speed. He'll be involved with the walkthroughs and stuff like that, so he's ready to pop back out here within a few days I would think."
G Phil Haynes
Haynes also had sports hernia surgery, and the fourth-round pick is "going to be a little bit," Carroll said. "We've got to give him some time, it's only probably been four weeks since the surgery. We want to make sure that he's back and strong, but he's making a great recovery, and he'll be back before camp's over."
DT Demarcus Christmas
Carroll said Christmas, a sixth-round pick out of Florida State, "came up with a back issue that has bothered him. We have to just kind of wait that out a little bit and make sure that it's not going to nag him. Sometimes those can be kind of a problem, so we're going to wait him out. So he'll be out a little bit."
RB C.J. Prosise
While Prosise was not participating Thursday, it was not because of injury, and he should be back soon.
"He's just got the flu," Carroll said. "He made it through yesterday's conditioning thing, but he's just a little under the weather. He'll be back in a day."
Photos from Day 1 of 2019 Seahawks Training Camp, presented by Safeway held on Thursday, July 25 at Renton's Virginia Mason Athletic Center.