Seattle, WA
Seattle Seahawks 90-Man Roundup: Can Drake Thomas Earn Rotational Linebacker Role?
With OTAs now opening across the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC in a little over two months, officially ushering in the first season under new coach Mike Macdonald.
In preparation for the new incoming season, we’ll be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, diving into scheme fits, exploring best and worst case scenarios, and predicting what to expect from each player entering the 2024 campaign.
After playing in eight games with the Seahawks in 2023, will Drake Thomas rebound from injury and find a way to earn a rotational role in 2024?
Thomas was a three-star recruit per 247 Sports and committed to play for NC State in the 2019 recruiting class. He played in four seasons for the Wolfpack, including playing with his brother and current Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Thayer Thomas. He was increasingly productive throughout his career. He finished with 292 tackles, including 46 for loss, 19 sacks, and four interceptions. Thomas went undrafted in the 203 NFL Draft and signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent. After being waived by the Raiders during final cuts, the Seahawks claimed him off waivers. During his rookie season, he played in eight games before being placed on injured reserve in November.
Despite his size, Thomas is a throwback middle linebacker who would play inside as the MIKE defender in Macdonald’s defense. With his lack of speed, he’s likely an early down player moving forward with special teams capabilities, which could still be a valuable asset for the Seahawks.
Back to full health after a significant injury, Thomas thrives during training camp and the preseason during all phases and pushes one of Tyrell Dodson or Jerome Baker for a starting spot. At the very least, his play in the running game forces Macdonald to play him on early downs and he stuns as a contributor on defense for the Seahawks in 2024.
Clear size and athleticism limitations become a major hindrance for Thomas, especially coming off injury, and expose him in coverage on obvious passing downs. He gets pushed by the likes of Patrick O’Connell and Eason Gibbs for his roster spot and ultimately doesn’t return on the practice squad after being released in late August.
Bringing him in for a top-30 visit before the 2023 draft, the Seahawks liked Thomas enough to not just claim him off waivers, but also played him right away on special teams upon arrival last season. He showed some nice ability on kick and punt coverage, but he only got five snaps on defense with three coming in his final game before an injury ended his season prematurely.
Going into 2024, Thomas has a chance to thrive under Macdonald’s leadership in a linebacker room that has a significant amount of questions if he’s healthy enough to compete. But he has yet to practice this spring and that makes his situation a bit more murky. Offering significant special teams experience, Thomas has enough talent to make the 53-man roster, but it won’t be without a fight and will be health permitting.
Previous 90-Man Roundups
Buddha Jones | Devin Richardson | TaMerik Williams | Rason Williams II | Ro Torrence | Nathan Pickering | Dee Williams | Devere Levelston | Kobe Lewis | Sunny Anderson | Mike Novitsky | Max Pincher | Easton Gibbs | Hayden Hatten | Garret Greenfield| Carlton Johnson| Matt Gotel |George Holani | Cody White | Ty Okada
Seattle, WA
Evacuations ordered in 3 south Seattle suburbs after levee fails after week of heavy rain
SEATTLE (AP) – Officials ordered immediate evacuations in three south Seattle suburbs Monday after a levee failed following a week of heavy rains.
The evacuation order from King County in Washington state covered homes and businesses east of the Green River in parts of Kent, Auburn and Tukwila.
Emergency shelters have been set up at the following locations:
- Auburn Community and Event Center, 910 9th St. SE, Auburn, WA, 98002
- Ray of Hope Shelter, 2806 Auburn Way N. Auburn, WA, 98002
- Evergreen State Fairgrounds, 14405 179th Ave. SE., Monroe, WA 98272 (Open 24 hours) – Pets welcomed
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning covering nearly 47,000 people.
“Conditions are dangerous and access routes may be lost at any time,” the weather service said in a post on X.
The levee breach followed a week of heavy rain and flooding that inundated communities, forced the evacuations of tens of thousands of people, and prompted scores of rescues throughout western Washington state
Copyright 2025 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
Seattle, WA
Report: Seattle Mariners a front-runner for Cards’ Donovan
The Seattle Mariners have emerged as one of two front-runners in trade talks with the St. Louis Cardinals for utilityman Brendan Donovan, The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported on Saturday.
Drayer: How Polanco’s departure impacts Seattle Mariners’ offseason
Woo reported a league source said trade discussions between the Mariners and Cardinals have been heating up since the Winter Meetings, and that switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje and outfielder Lazaro Montes – two of Seattle’s top-seven prospects, per MLB pipeline – are two names St. Louis has inquired about, among others.
The Cardinals will not trade Donovan unless they are “blown away” by the return, and it’s believed they are looking for at least two prospects, per Woo’s reporting.
The San Francisco Giants were the other of the two front-runners Woo named. She also said that both the Mariners and Giants remain engaged in talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks about second baseman Ketel Marte.
Can the M’s give up what Arizona wants for a Ketel Marte trade?
Donovan, who will turn 29 next month, has two years of club control remaining. He’s played every position except catcher during his four-year career, with the majority of his time coming at second base and left field. He would figure to mainly factor in at second base and third base for the Mariners, who have young players like Cole Young, Ben Williamson and Colt Emerson vying for time at those positions.
Donovan was a first-time All-Star in 2025, batting .287 with a .353 on-base percentage, .422 slugging percentage, .775 OPS, 32 doubles, 10 home runs and 50 RBIs in 118 games. His 13% strikeout rate ranked in the 92nd percentile of big league hitters and his 13.4% whiff rate in the 95th percentile, per Baseball Savant.
Over four MLB seasons, Donovan has a career .282 average with a .361 on-base percentage, .411 slugging percentage, .772 OPS, 97 doubles, 40 homers and 202 RBIs in 492 games. He won the NL Gold Glove for utility players during his rookie season in 2022.
As for the prospects Woo reported the Cardinals inquiring about, the 22-year-old Cijntje is Seattle’s No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The unique pitcher had a 3.99 ERA and 1.22 WHIP while holding opponents to a .207 average, striking out 120 batters and walking 51 in 108 1/3 innings pitched over 26 appearances (23 starts) across High-A and Double-A in 2025.
The 21-year-old Montes is considered to be the best power-hitting prospect in the Mariners’ farm system and is their No. 3 overall farmhand, per MLB Pipeline. The slugging outfielder hit .241 with a .354 on-base percentage, .504 slugging percentage, .858 OPS, 19 doubles, seven triples, 32 home runs, 89 RBIs, 83 walks and 169 strikeouts over 131 games across High-A and Double-A this year. Montes finished tied for third in home runs among minor leaguers across all levels.
The report that the M’s are one of the top contenders for Donovan came on the same day as they lost out on re-signing their top remaining free-agent target, second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco, who reportedly agreed to a two-year, $40 million deal with the New York Mets.
More Seattle Mariners offseason coverage
• Backup catcher target emerges for Seattle Mariners, per reports
• Drayer: Mariners’ plan for 2B and 3B coming more into focus
• Salk: What we know and think about Seattle Mariners’ offseason needs
• Why Nolan Arenado could make sense as a Seattle Mariners trade target
• Drayer: Mariners’ plan for 2B and 3B coming more into focus
• The one move Passan says could make Mariners the AL favorites
Seattle, WA
WEST SEATTLE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: As seen from two wheels
Tonight’s spotlight lights are courtesy of Al, who sent this photo from a stop during The Beer Junction‘s wassail ride tonight – he says it’s in North Admiral, SW Atlantic between California SW and 44th SW. As for the ride, Al reports 17 people pedaled about six miles:
Wherever and however you find lights worth sharing, westseattleblog@gmail.com – with or without a pic! (To see what we’ve shown already, scroll through this WSB archive!)
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