The battle at right guard is settled for the Seattle Seahawks – at least for now.

Seattle Seahawks rule out 2 key players for Sunday’s game vs Rams

After several weeks of splitting time with rookie Christian Haynes, the Seahawks are rolling with Anthony Bradford as their full-time right guard Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb told reporters Thursday that Bradford earned the job with recently improved play, including in last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“I thought he did a better job finishing, his execution was better and he had a really good week of practice,” Grubb said. “I thought that was something that showed up in the game. He certainly wasn’t perfect by any stretch. He’s still working through stuff as a young player, but he’s finishing harder and he’s playing with better pad level and he’s starting to live up to some of the things we think he can do.”

Bradford had been getting the bulk of the playing time at the position, logging at least 60% of the team’s offensive snaps in the six games (Weeks 2 and 4-8) he split time with Haynes. And according to Pro Football Focus, the second-year offensive lineman is coming off his two best performances of the season.

In Seattle’s Week 7 win over Atlanta, Bradford posted a season-best 67.2 overall grade and career-best 87.0 pass-blocking grade. He received the second-highest overall grade of any Seahawks O-linemen and didn’t allow a pressure for the second time this season

In last week’s loss to Buffalo, Bradford earned a 65.3 overall grade with 67.9 run-blocking mark, which were each his second-best grades of the season.

Additionally, the LSU product’s penalty problem has subsided after a brutal first three weeks. Bradford committed a team-high seven penalties in the first three games, but hasn’t been flagged since.

Bradford holds an overall grade of 51.1 with a 57.3 in run blocking and 51.1 in pass blocking in 434 snaps this season. He’s allowed a total of 20 pressures and four sacks.

Meanwhile, Haynes’ performance has graded out slightly less favorably. In 104 snaps, he sports an overall grade of 48.0 with a 50.1 in run blocking in 53.3 in pass blocking. The 2024 third-round pick has allowed four pressures and one sack and committed two penalties.

Brock weighs in on RG decision

During his Blue 88 segment on Thursday, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard shared his thoughts on why the Seahawks are rolling with Bradford as the full-time right guard.

Huard feels that the size and strength the 6-foot-4, 332-pound Bradford possess is distinct advantage over the 6-foot-2, 313-pound Haynes.

“It’s just the difference between (a baseball pitcher) 92 (mph) velo and 100 velo,” Huard said. “(Bradford is) athletic, he’s strong, he’s got a massive, massive frame and he’s pretty athletic with it. When he’s disciplined, when he’s conditioned, when he’s on point, when he’s … intentional about all of that, the upside and the skill set is just much better than Christian.

“And they’ve given him opportunities, but he has just been physically – this being Haynes – too many times physically overwhelmed, and Bradford’s not necessarily been physically overwhelmed.”

With that being said, Huard still sees plenty of work to be done on Bradford’s end.

“I think he has been, at times, mentally overwhelmed to do the right thing all the time,” Huard said. “So this is going to give Bradford every opportunity to maximize (his) talent. When we speak of talent, talent that is there, more talent than Christian Haynes has, but certainly a discipline that’s got to grow an awful lot.”

Listen to Brock Huard’s Blue 88 at this link or in the audio player in this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Macdonald previews Seahawks’ Week 9 battle vs Rams
• Rost: Answering three important Seahawks questions
• Is Seattle Seahawks’ run defense or rushing attack a quicker fix?
• Rost: The problem with the Seattle Seahawks’ biggest problem
• Salk: Richard Sherman is right about what Seahawks need – kinda

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We are wrapping up a cloudy, cool and showery day. Be sure to grab an extra layer if you are heading out for the evening as overnight lows will be cool, dipping into the low and mid 40s. 

A disturbance sitting off the coast will continue to bring scattered showers on Saturday. There will be some dry periods during the day with the best chances for showers in the afternoon and early evening.

A disturbance sitting off the coast will continue to bring scattered showers on Saturday. (FOX 13 Seattle)

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The Washington Huskies are set to play the Trojans at Husky Stadium on Saturday. Scattered showers will be possible during the game against USC.

Scattered showers will be possible during Saturday’s game against USC.

While we will see some breaks in the rain during the day, it will remain cool with highs running below the normal 56 degrees. 

Cool afternoons continue for Western Washington on Saturday. (FOX 13 Seattle)

While this weekend will be a bit unsettled with occasional rain showers, a more active storm system will arrive on Monday with wet and breezy conditions. The mountains could see another few inches of snow early in the week. Some drier weather is forecast from Tuesday evening through Thursday. 

Scattered showers this weekend with more active weather again by Monday.  (FOX 13 Seattle)

The Seattle Mariners have officially made the first “big” move of the offseason.

After a lot of debate over whether or not the team would opt to bring him back due to his injury concerns, the Seattle Mariners declined the $12 million option of second baseman and 2019 All-Star Jorge Polanco on Friday.

Polanco will receive a $750,000 buyout from the Mariners due to the team declining his option. The team’s 40-man roster now stands at 36 players.

Seattle traded for Polanco from the Minnesota Twins on Jan. 29, 2024, in efforts to figure out the team’s perpetual hole at second base. The Mariners have been trying to find an answer at the position since trading Robinson Cano to the New York Mets back in 2018.

Polanco had a down season by all metrics, even though it wasn’t entirely his fault.

The 11-year MLB veteran was dealing with a nagging knee injury for the second half of the season and had a stint on the 10-day injured list earlier in the year with a hamstring injury.

Polanco underwent surgery to repair a damaged patellar tendon after the season ended.

Polanco averaged just .213 this year with 16 home runs and 45 RBIs. His defense also took a noticeable step back.

Polanco had -10 outs above average, which ranks in just the second percentile in the league according to Baseball Savant.

Polanco is a switch-hitter with 20-home run power. He was reported to be ready to return by spring training after his surgery.

Seattle will now look to find an answer at second base while Polanco will try and find a new home.

The Mariners have several avenues they can explore to fill out the gap at second base. And time will tell if one of those avenues includes going after a free agent or pulling off a trade.

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Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.