Seattle, WA
Observations from Seattle Seahawks' practice at Lumen Field
There will be a lot of firsts for new Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald over the next month or so.
Macdonald optimistic Seahawks QB Geno Smith will return next week
The 36-year-old Macdonald just checked another one off the list, coaching the Seahawks inside their home stadium for the first time.
The Seahawks departed from their training camp headquarters at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center to hold their annual “Football Fest” practice Saturday at Lumen Field. It was a festive atmosphere on a sun-soaked afternoon, with music blaring throughout practice and the occasional roar of Blue Angels soaring overhead.
“What an atmosphere, man,” Macdonald said. “It’s just really surreal being in the stadium, and then we’ve got the jets flying overhead. It’s just tough to beat.”
The event served as a way for players and coaches to replicate a gameday routine. But as Macdonald noted, it also added some extra buzz to help break up the day-to-day grind of training camp.
“It kind of kicks it up a notch,” Macdonald said. “I wouldn’t say the lights are on, but they kind of are, so it amplifies the intensity, for sure.”
Here are some observations from Saturday’s practice:
• Defense wins the day: With starting quarterback Geno Smith still sidelined after hurting his knee and hip in Tuesday’s practice, backup Sam Howell continued to work as the first-team quarterback and P.J. Walker took the second-team reps. Perhaps understandably, the defense held the upper hand for most of the day.
During a 15-minute scrimmage session, the first-team offense went three-and-out on its first two possessions and then drove into the red zone on its third possession before stalling in the closing seconds. Facing a fourth-and-2 from the 18-yard line, Howell couldn’t connect on an end-zone pass to receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., who was covered by veteran cornerback Artie Burns. The second-team offense also went three-and-out on its first possession before Walker led the unit on a 60-yard TD march on its second drive.
The defense also had its way during a red-zone drill where the offense started on the 20-yard line. The first-team offense settled for a field goal after being set back by a holding penalty, while the second-team offense went three-and-out.
• Another Bobo highlight: The lone touchdown drive in the 15-minute scrimmage session was capped by another highlight-reel catch from second-year receiver Jake Bobo. The former undrafted free agent made a twisting, acrobatic 8-yard TD snag in the front corner of the end zone, using great body control to corral the pass inside the right boundary. It came after the 6-foot-4 Bobo made a spectacular diving TD catch in Tuesday’s practice.
“I don’t see him drop a lot of footballs,” Macdonald said. “It seems like he comes down with a bunch of them. I think he complements our receiving room well, and then we’re really excited in the (special) teams phase. I think he provides more than a normal receiver would provide in that phase too. It’ll be fun to see how he fits into the receiver room and how that thing all shakes out, because we’ve got a lot of talent.”
• Defensive highlights: On a day dominated by defense, Seattle’s talented pair of young cornerbacks came up with two of the most noteworthy plays. During the 15-minute scrimmage session, third-year cornerback Riq Woolen used his 6-foot-4 length to make a diving deflection over the middle on a third-down pass from Howell. And on the first-team offense’s ensuing possession, second-year corner Devon Witherspoon blitzed off the edge and deflected a first-down pass from Howell.
• Murphy continues to impress: Rookie defensive tackle and No. 16 overall pick Byron Murphy II, described by one draft analyst as a “muscular ball of explosiveness,” has the potential to be a big-time disruptor in the trenches. The 6-foot, 306-pound Murphy showed some of that horsepower on Saturday, as he appeared to get considerable push up front in pass-rush drills.
“Let’s not crown him yet, but he’s on the way,” Macdonald said. “He’s a force in there, and I think the guys see it. I’m just pleased with his effort. The guy brings it every day. … He’s a savvy football player. He knows what he’s doing out there. He’s not lost. He plays fast, plays rugged. So I think the future is bright for Mr. Murphy.”
• Kick return options: The Seahawks experimented with a handful of different returners while practicing kickoffs under the NFL’s new rules. Among the returners were Shenault, Dee Williams, Dee Eskridge, Tre Brown, Dareke Young and WSU Cougars product Eason Winston Jr. The Seahawks had two returners on the field for each kickoff, as teams across the league are widely expected to do with the new rules encouraging directional kicking.
“It’s eval phase,” Macdonald said. “When you see it in the preseason, hopefully we get a lot of reps of that and opportunities to see who can do something with the ball.”
• Things get chippy: As players battle for starting jobs and roster spots under the summer heat of training camp, there are times when tensions can boil over. That happened twice on Saturday. The first instance was a minor scuffle between an offensive lineman and edge rusher during one-on-one pass rush drills. The second came after Eskridge hauled in a reception over the middle and was taken to the ground hard by safety Marquise Blair. Other players quickly converged on the scene for a brief skirmish before things cooled down.
“I think today’s an opportunity to say, hey, we wanna push the envelope, we want to be on the line, but we also want to be smart within the situation as well,” Macdonald said. “It is a balance. … Things are gonna happen. It’s training camp. Tempers are gonna flare. But hey, how do we respond to it? Cooler heads will prevail and let’s keep it moving.”
More on the Seattle Seahawks
• What Seattle Seahawks players are saying about Macdonald’s defense
• Will Seattle Seahawks’ Boye Mafe reap rewards in Macdonald’s defense?
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba among top candidates for second-year surge
• Is Seattle Seahawks LT Charles Cross poised to take next step?
• How concerning is Abraham Lucas’ status for Seattle Seahawks?
SEATTLE – High pressure continues early this week, leading to more sunshine and warmer afternoon temperatures. Skies will be sunny, warm and dry through the middle of the week.
High pressure continues early this week, leading to more sunshine and warmer afternoon temperatures.
What’s next:
Highs today in the low to mid 80s for parts of western Washington, with highs in central and eastern Washington getting close to 100 degrees. The coast and northern interior will remain in the 70s with mostly sunny skies.
Highs today in the low to mid 80s for parts of western Washington.
Fire Risk Levels
The Fire Risk Levels this week will continue to elevate as we see warming temperatures and increased chance of thunderstorms. East of the cascades is already dry and warm, so the increased chance of new fire starts will be something to watch with the storms.
The Fire Risk Levels this week will continue to elevate as we see warming temperatures and increased chance of thunderstorms. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Looking Ahead:
Temperatures will continue to warm for western Washington through midweek, before we see another low pressure system swing inland Thursday. This low will increase changes of showers and isolated thunderstorms on Thursday, and temperatures will be back to normal for this time of year. This cool down is short-lived as high pressure builds again and highs warm back up into the 80s by the weekend.
Temperatures will continue to warm for western Washington through midweek, before we see another low pressure system swing in Thursday.
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You easily could have missed it amid all of the attention around this year’s tournament, but in late December FIFA revealed the bids that they received from federations to host the 2031 and 2035 Women’s World Cups. The sole bid for 2031 was a joint proposal from the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. Although a formal vote still needs to take place to approve the bid, this all but assures the USA of hosting the women’s tournament for the first time since 2003.
As part of the bid, 20 potential host cities were profiled, including Seattle, which was lauded for its long history with women’s soccer and support for collegiate and professional women’s sports.
Local organizers from the 2026 men’s World Cup have already started publicly talking about bringing the women’s tournament here, too.
Here’s what you need to know:
Seattle in strong position to be a 2031 Women’s World Cup host
Seattle is one of 20 U.S. cities profiled in joint bid with Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica.
Is the 2031 Women’s World Cup really coming to the United States?
While it’s not official until the FIFA Congress meets in November and votes on the bids, it appears to be a fait accompli at this point. With the tournament growing to 48 teams in 2031 and FIFA desiring to cycle each edition between different continents, no other bids were received for 2031. Similarly, a joint UK/Ireland bid is the sole proposal for 2035 and is expected to be approved at the same FIFA Congress meeting.
However, the vote was originally scheduled to occur at a FIFA meeting in April, but had to be delayed after the Trump administration refused to sign off on required guarantees while attempting to pressure FIFA and U.S. Soccer to adopt draconian anti-transgender athlete policies. Whether either side budges before November remains to be seen.
Why was Canada not included in this bid, unlike the 2026 Men’s World Cup?
Having recently hosted the 2015 Women’s World Cup on their own, Canada Soccer felt that the Concacaf bid would be received more favorably without their involvement, which opened the door to the USA and Mexico inviting smaller Concacaf nations to join them.
What does it mean that Seattle was profiled in the bid book?
The overall proposal lists 35 potential host cities and 49 venues, with a subset of 20 profiled more in-depth. Some of this likely reflects the reuse of content which was already available from the 2026 men’s World Cup bid book, and let’s be honest – it’s a lot easier to hype up the metronatural wonders of Seattle than somewhere like Birmingham or Salt Lake City.
The venues that are profiled were selected to represent “the diversity in geography, scale, and infrastructure readiness”, but all 49 venues will be given equal consideration when it comes time for FIFA to select host cities.
Why is Portland not in the bid?
That’s a good question! The minimum venue size for the women’s tournament is 20,000 and a number of stadiums of similar size to Providence Park are included. I expect that many of the smaller venues will be weeded out during the review process because FIFA wants that sweet, sweet ticket revenue, so perhaps they knew they’d be overshadowed by us.
How likely is Seattle to be selected?
The odds are good! For broadcast purposes, the tournament organizers will want to spread games across time zones and there are only a few West Coast cities in the proposal – Seattle, San Francisco/Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Seattle also benefits from being geographically distinct, offering the potential to draw fans from the wider Pacific Northwest area, especially if Canada plays any games at Lumen Field. The rave reviews the stadium and city just received during the 2026 men’s tournament are also going to be a big net positive during the selection process.
Previous Women’s World Cup tournaments have typically included 6 to 10 host cities, but with the event doubling in size from 2019 (when 9 cities were chosen for 24 teams) and global media wanting matches spread out in more timeslots, there will be a need for more venues than ever before. The 2026 Men’s World Cup serves as a model, with 16 host cities for that 48-team tournament. Costa Rica and Jamaica will each have one venue and Mexico has six potential host cities, meaning the US will likely have at least eight host cities, if not more. It is also unlikely that multiple cities in close proximity would be selected – for example, no more than one of the three Florida candidates would likely be selected, if any; and likewise only one of Baltimore or Washington, D.C.
What will the atmosphere be like?
Much of what you’ve witnessed for the 2026 tournament will also feature in 2031. All of the fields will have natural grass surfaces. Host cities will have dedicated fan zones with supporting programming and watch parties, bars will host events, and you can expect a lot of traveling support bringing their own culture and stadium traditions to games.
Will this be another wild goose chase to get overpriced tickets?
Historically, the Women’s World Cup has been significantly more affordable and accessible than the men’s tournament. For example, packages with a ticket to both semifinals and the final in 2019 in France started at €50 (about US$60), and tickets to the 2023 final in Australia started at AUD $40 (about US$28), while group-stage games were even less expensive. The past five women’s finals have sold out, but there was ample time to get tickets in the lead-up to the games without submitting to a lottery to win a chance to wait in a second queue a month later for the possibility of buying a ticket that’s more expensive than your mortgage payment.
But the sport is growing quickly, with a huge influx of money and more sponsor and media attention around the globe, and more federations finally getting serious about investment and promotion for their women’s sides. The experience and demand in 2031 might look completely different from 2023. That said, even with higher demand and price inflation, tickets should not be remotely near the eye-watering dynamic prices being charged for the 2026 tournament, nor as difficult to obtain.
When will we know if Seattle is selected?
The first step won’t come until after the bid is formally approved this winter. Then there will likely be several rounds of review, with some candidate venues dropped after each round. The final venues for 2026 were selected about four years in advance, which means we might get an indication of Seattle’s status in late 2027. Until then, one of the biggest things you can do to help the cause is to continue showing up to other women’s soccer games happening in Seattle.
SEATTLE — Following the news of likely new ownership for the Seattle Seahawks ahead of the upcoming 2026 season, many questions linger about the future of the franchise.
The Paul G. Allen Estate announced Saturday that it had entered a formal sales agreement with tech billionaire Vinod Khosla, and his family to sell the team for $9.6 billion, as reported by ESPN. The Khosla family currently owns a minority stake in the San Francisco 49ers, which they would need to divest.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Paul Allen estate agrees to sell Seattle Seahawks to ownership group led by Khosla family
The sale would be unprecedented for multiple reasons; not only would a $9.6 billion price tag make this the highest team purchase in NFL history, surpassing the $6.05 billion sale of the Washington Commanders in 2023, but this will also be the first time a team has been sold immediately after winning the Super Bowl.
Taking ownership of reigning Super Bowl champions will put the Khosla family in a unique position. Often when NFL teams are sold, they’re not in a great stead, said Dick Fain of Seattle Sports Radio KJR.
“So, they need a new general manager, they need a new president, maybe they need a new head coach,” Fain explained. “The Seahawks need none of that right now.”
Fain, and most other industry experts, are confident the Khosla family knows to leave football operations largely untouched and remain under the leadership of General Manager John Schneider and Head Coach Mike Macdonald. New owners should, instead, focus on business operations, Fain added.
Many have suggested a facelift for Lumen Field could be the first “order of business.” The Seahawks’ stadium lease will run through 2032, and like any stadium over the years, Fain thinks Lumen Field would benefit from renovations and potentially increasing capacity by 5,000 to 10,000 seats, especially if Seattle wants to secure another global stage opportunity.
“Based upon what we just saw with the World Cup, this city is absolutely able to host a Super Bowl,” Fain said.
Unlike the Allen family and the team’s original owners, the Nordstrom family, the Khoslas are not from Seattle, nor do they have any known, direct ties to the area. Talk of a stadium lease expiring and outside ownership has naturally sparked fans’ fear of the team leaving the Emerald City.
But those are expected to remain as unsubstantiated fears. A franchise relocation deal would need to be approved by a league of NFL team owners, which rarely does so out of established, successful markets.
“This is a very different situation than Clayton Bennett [and the Supersonics]. This is a very different situation than Jeff Smulyan and the Mariners,” Fain said. “This team’s not going anywhere.”
In a statement released on behalf of their family, Vinod Khosla acknowledged that the group will have to earn the trust of the Seahawks organization and its fans. He also wrote that their family looks forward to building on “Paul Allen’s winning legacy.”
While making his debut at the 2026 American Century Championship, a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada, Macdonald told a reporter he was excited but that “nothing really changes on our front” at this point.
“It’s a great chapter in Seahawks history, and I look forward to getting to know everybody,” Macdonald said.
The NFL is expected to approve the team’s sale to the Khosla family during an August meeting, according to ESPN.
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