Seattle, WA
Seattle Seahawks Training Camp Takeaways: Charles Cross, O-Line Leads Physical Effort
RENTON, Wash. – Though the Seattle Seahawks didn’t set any records for touchdowns in Tuesday’s sixth training camp practice, the offensive line bounced back after getting pushed around a bit in the first padded session, earning coach Mike Macdonald’s victory for the day.
At the center of Seattle’s improved efforts in the trenches, left tackle Charles Cross received the team’s Heavyweight Championship Belt for a stellar afternoon holding his own against Uchenna Nwosu and others off the edge, toting it around after practice over his right shoulder with pride. While Macdonald said the criteria for winning the belt remain everchanging, at the advice of quarterback Geno Smith, the coaches opted to select the third-year lineman after another excellent practice.
“Shoutout to Geno [Smith], the offense won the game and he said give it to an o-linemen and Charles has been having a great camp,” Macdonald smiled. “The belt is something that’s kind of fun, just kind of mix it up and spice it up throughout camp, who’s holding the belt and we can kind of change the criteria of how you challenge it. We’ve got a bunch of them.”
Individually, Cross dominated his pair of reps against standout rusher Uchenna Nwosu during one-on-ones, stymying a bull rush on one snap and following up with a pancake on the defender when he tried to maneuver inside with a speed rip and lost his footing. During a team run period, he helped spring Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet on back-to-back 20-plus yard runs with key blocks on the left side.
With Cross leading the way, Seattle’s offensive line – which included rookie Christian Haynes at left guard in place of a resting Laken Tomlinson – did a better job protecting Smith and Sam Howell all afternoon, giving the quarterbacks adequate time to scan the field and throw the ball after being under frequent pressure on Monday. Macdonald thought all three line groups also improved at creating push at the line of scrimmage in the run game compared to the previous practice.
“I felt movement up front, especially with the second group” Macdonald said when asked what he liked about Seattle’s offensive effort. “That’s the challenge for the second defense to respond to that. We can’t be getting knocked off the ball.”
With their sixth practice now officially in the books, here are four additional takeaways from the VMAC:
With the foundation of their program still built around competition under Macdonald, no position groups have featured better competitions than receiver and cornerback to this point, and the fact they square off against each other on the practice field has only spiced things up further. Specifically, DK Metcalf has been at the center of epic battles against the likes of Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, and Tre Brown, leading to plenty of chirping and even some post-play hostility.
After Metcalf and Woolen got into a heated exchange and had to be separated during Monday’s practice, the two former Pro Bowlers kept getting under each other’s skin, starting in one-on-one drills. Working his way back towards Smith on a curl route, Metcalf looked to have an easy completion, only for Woolen to sneak his left arm in front for a pass breakup while drawing a questionable holding penalty from the on-site official, drawing ire from the defender.
Moments later, Woolen undercut Metcalf on a crossing route and showed off his sub-4.30 speed, reaching in front for another outstanding pass deflection. Overall, the third-year defender got a piece of three passes on Tuesday afternoon and didn’t allow any notable catches, continuing to rebound from a somewhat disappointing sophomore season with a stellar camp.
“I see iron sharpening iron out there when he’s going against the wideouts, especially when he’s on DK,” Macdonald said of Woolen. “Someone that’s on a mission and he’s responded to the coaching and he’s bought in… I don’t want to oversell it right now, but I think you can sense our excitement about him.”
As for Metcalf, even though Woolen got the better of him on several reps, he enjoyed arguably his best day of camp so far. Aside from catching a 30-yard post route, he capped off practice with a highlight reel one-handed touchdown from Smith, somehow managing to break loose from Witherspoon’s tight coverage along the sideline just long enough to snag the ball with his right hand while keeping his feet inbounds.
As typically happens when the pads first come out, Seattle’s defense won the day on Monday in emphatic fashion, dominating at the line of scrimmage and making life tough on Smith and Howell in the pocket, often flushing them out with sticky coverage locking down receivers on the back end. Eager to turn in a better showing in Tuesday’s session, both quarterbacks found a bit of a groove with better protection in front of them and delivered on several long completions.
Continuing to spin the ball effectively to all levels of the field, Smith unleashed a fastball to Metcalf coming open over the middle on a crosser for a long completion after moving his pocket to his left. He later added a pair of well-thrown completions to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, first dropping the ball over the shoulder of Woolen for a 15-yard completion on a slot fade route and then linking up with the second-year wideout down the seam for a 20-yard completion after feathering the ball over the outstretched hands of Nwosu.
Building off improvements in the past two practices, Howell keeps gaining confidence in Ryan Grubb’s offense by day and executed what would have been the best throw of the day, though it ended up being called back for a sack by Joshua Onujiogu. Stepping up into the pocket, he launched a rocket to the deep post to Easop Winston Jr. in stride, hitting the player right on the hands after he created separation, allowing the receiver to turn upfield for a 65-yard touchdown pass.
Prior to last season, Burns had exclusively been a boundary corner in the NFL, playing a grand total of 42 snaps in the slot in his first five NFL seasons. But he demonstrated unexpected versatility for the Seahawks a year ago, logging 202 snaps inside while producing a pass breakup and allowing no touchdowns in coverage, which may have been the difference for him winning a roster spot.
Fast forwarding to the present, Burns has once again been a pleasant surprise on the practice field, earning the trust of Macdonald and a new defensive coaching staff in the process. Earlier in camp, he intercepted Howell after peeling off of his receiver to snag an underthrown pass at full extension and also produced several pass breakups in the first five practices while mostly playing outside.
On Tuesday, Burns put another feather in his cap as he competes in a deep, crowded cornerback room, receiving extensive snaps in the nickel cornerback spot with Witherspoon and Woolen playing on the outside. Taking advantage of his opportunity, he swatted away a potential touchdown in the end zone from Smith-Njigba, helping the first-team defense keep the offense out of the end zone with three straight incompletions forced.
“There’s a poise about him, a cleanliness to how he’s playing, he’s very smooth,” Macdonald commented. “He’s taken strides from the spring, so we’re excited about Artie. He’s right in the mix and we’ll see how it shakes out.”
As a boundary-only defender, Burns would likely be facing an uphill battle to make Seattle’s roster. But his added positional flexibility has opened the door for him not only to win a spot, but as evidenced on Tuesday, potentially vie for snaps on defense when Witherspoon isn’t playing inside, creating another intriguing storyline to watch in the secondary.
For most of his rookie season, Hall struggled to consistently pitch in as a contributor for Seattle’s edge rush rotation, particularly as a pass rusher. Aside from failing to produce a single sack, per Pro Football Focus, he only generated 11 pressures and four quarterback hits on 137 pass rushing reps, and he also was docked significantly as a run defender with a dreadful 32.7 grade.
But of Seattle’s second-year players returning, no player has taken the leap forward so far that Hall has, as he looks like a different player in Macdonald’s scheme. Resembling the disruptor who earned back-to-back All-SEC selections at Auburn, he has been a frequent visitor in the backfield as both a rusher and run defender since camp opened, winning with physicality shedding blocks as well as a quick first step to beat opponents as a penetrator.
In Tuesday’s practice, Hall flashed on several snaps during the team session, collapsing the pocket quickly on two different occasions with a powerful bull rush. His best play came against the run, however, as he threw jarring hands off the snap to knock back the opposing tackle before crashing inside to devour Walker for a one-yard loss.
Taking notice of his teammate’s growth, Nwosu raved about Hall’s development, citing his focus and leadership as the two areas where he has improved the most this offseason.
“He’s hungry, he’s ready to go out there and prove what he can do,” Nwosu said. “From the offseason training he’s put in to now, you can see it out there, he’s more committed than ever. Last year being a rookie for him, he was just going with the flow, listening, and taking the coaching. But now he’s taking the next step leading, teaching the younger guys how it is done, and impressing these coaches more and more.”
Aside from Tomlinson, Leonard Williams also enjoyed a veteran rest day and didn’t practice. After banging his elbow during Monday’s session, defensive tackle Mike Morris also didn’t participate, though Macdonald didn’t sound concerned that he will miss much time. Veteran Dre’Mont Jones missed his third straight practice with a hamstring injury and his status remains uncertain for Wednesday, while rookie cornerback D.J. James returned to practice after sitting out four straight days.
Bryan Woo was the best pitcher the Seattle Mariners had in 2025 as they made their run to the playoffs.
He looked like that guy again on Wednesday afternoon.
Seattle Mariners 3, Atlanta Braves 1: Recap | Box score | Standings
Woo shook off a pair of recent shaky outings to go six scoreless, one-hit innings to lead the Mariners to a 3-1 win that clinched a series victory over the MLB-leading Atlanta Braves.
The 26-year-old right-hander worked around a pair of walks while tying his season-high with nine strikeouts.
Woo had a 2.25 ERA through his first five starts of the season, but he ran into trouble on Seattle’s last road trip, allowing seven runs on nine hits including four home runs at St. Louis on April 25. He struggled again last Friday, giving up four runs in the first inning and six runs total over six frames in a loss at home to Kansas City.
Those two outings pushed Woo’s ERA up to 4.61, but he lowered it to 4.02 on the year with his start Wednesday.
What Rowland-Smith sees in Woo’s recent struggles
With Woo dominant on the mound, the Mariners’ offense didn’t need to do too much to build a lead against the Braves. Seattle went up 1-0 when designated hitter Cal Raleigh came up with no outs and hit into a bases-loaded double play in the third inning, scoring catcher Jhonny Pereda.
Julio Rodríguez contributed with a little more volume in the sixth inning, blasting a 436-foot solo home run to center off of Braves starter Martín Pérez to put the M’s up 2-0. And after the Braves scored one in the eighth, team RBI leader Cole Young added some insurance by bringing home Josh Naylor home with his second double of the game.
The Mariners came back to beat Atlanta 5-4 on Monday, then had to bounce back Wednesday after falling 3-2 Tuesday night following Braves slugger Matt Olson’s go-ahead homer off of closer Andrés Muñoz in the ninth inning.
Seattle improved to 18-20 with the win, while the Braves dropped to 26-12. It was the first series loss of 2026 for Atlanta.
Houston Astros lose star Carlos Correa for season
The M’s are off Thursday, then begin a seven-game road trip at 4:40 p.m. Friday against the White Sox in Chicago. Mariners Radio Network coverage on Seattle Sports of that series opener will begin at 3:30 with the pregame show.
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Seattle, WA
‘Clueless’ socialist Mayor Katie Wilson in hot seat after video of 77-year-old beaten in downtown Seattle goes viral
Seattle’s socialist Mayor Katie Wilson is facing fierce blowback on social media after a 77-year-old man was seen on video being beaten by two individuals in a crime that was captured by closed-circuit television cameras, a tool that Wilson has denounced in the past as something that makes the community feel unsafe and “vulnerable.”
The elderly man was walking down the street in downtown Seattle last month when two men walking by him stopped, without any provocation, shoved him to the ground and beat him, KOMO News reported.
Ahmed Abdullahi Osman, 29, was later arrested and charged with second-degree assault, and police are looking for the second suspect. Osman was reportedly booked into jail the night of the assault and then released back onto the streets before a bail hearing.
“Turning on more cameras won’t magically make our neighborhoods safer, but it will certainly make our neighborhoods more vulnerable,” Wilson said in 2025 after Seattle City Council’s approval of expanding the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) CCTV pilot program, the program used to capture the video of this specific crime, according to KOMO News.
Conservatives on social media quickly pointed to Wilson’s policies, which have been much maligned as “soft on crime,” as a contributing factor, as well as her previous comments on CCTV.
“They elected a SOCIALIST,” Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez posted on X. “What did they think would happen?”
“Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson remains clueless on the job,” journalist Jonathan Choe posted on X. “So she’s allowing far-left activists to make public safety decisions for the city.”
“Go ahead and explain the ‘sOCiONoMic rOoT cAusES’ of this heinous crime,” Manhattan Institute fellow Rafael A. Mangual posted on X.
“Ahmed Abdullah Osman beat a 77-year-old in Seattle,” conservative influencer account End Wokeness posted on X in a clip that has been viewed over a million times. “Police ID’d him thanks to street video cameras. Mayor Wilson: ‘CCTV puts refugees at risk.’”
Wilson has amplified concerns from local activist groups that CCTV cameras will pose a threat to illegal immigrant communities.
“We are deeply concerned that the expansion of these tools will create an infrastructure where federal agencies can more readily target vulnerable communities, including immigrants and refugees,” the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Washington and the Church Council of Greater Seattle said in a letter last year.
The victim in the incident spent a week in a hospital after suffering a broken arm, knee and facial injuries, KOMO News reported.
Wilson’s office directed Fox News Digital to a March press release in which she outlined her position on the cameras, saying she is leaving the current cameras on but “pausing expansion of the pilot” program until “we have completed a privacy and data governance audit, and taken significant steps to strengthen our policies.”
Wilson acknowledged there’s “no doubt that these cameras make it easier to solve some crimes” that include “serious ones like homicides, but also, cameras are not the one key to making our neighborhoods safe.”
“I want to acknowledge that this is a controversial issue,” Wilson added. “For some people, seeing CCTV cameras in the neighborhood where they live or work or attend school makes them feel safer. For others, those same cameras make them feel less safe.”
“Those feelings are important, because our quality of life is partly about our feelings of safety or lack thereof, and our sense that our city is a welcoming place that is designed with consideration for our well-being and our humanity.”
Wilson continued, “But precisely because different people and different communities experience the cameras differently, it’s important to base a decision on more than feelings. It’s important to ground our actions in a thorough understanding of how the cameras are being used, of the public benefits they are providing, and of any harm they are causing or could cause.”
In a Tuesday press release, the Redmond, Washington Police Department announced the second suspect, Jes’Sean Tyrell Elion, was arrested with the help of Seattle police officers.
However, Osman is on the run and “currently wanted on a $200,000 warrant” and “officers are actively searching for him,” the press release said.
Last month, Fox News Digital reported on city advocates who say they are struggling to find solutions as homelessness and open-air drug use spread across Seattle’s streets, amid growing concerns about the direction of Wilson’s new administration.
“You can just see the foil is like blowing down the sidewalks like autumn leaves,” Andrea Suarez, founder and executive director of We Heart Seattle, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“Very common to see property damage of our parks and shared spaces. You can see Narcan is used to reverse an overdose, so you’ll see cartridges. But at least we’re remodeling the bathroom to be gender-neutral. I’m not [kidding] you, that’s where our priorities are.”
The Seattle Mariners have been staring down a difficult decision for weeks now and it’s only getting closer as Bryce Miller nears the end of his rehab assignment.
Two factors Hyphen sees in Bryan Woo’s recent struggles
When Miller makes his return to the big league club, which is now less than two weeks away barring a setback, the Mariners will have six capable starters but only five rotation spots.
The assumption when Miller started the season on the injured list was that he would replace Emerson Hancock when he returned, but Hancock has been Seattle’s best starter thus far, posting a 2.59 ERA over seven starts while striking out batters at a career-best 28.9% clip.
Now it looks as if veteran Luis Castillo could be the top candidate to taken out of the rotation. In seven starts this season, the right-hander has produced a 6.29 ERA and minus-0.8 bWAR.
ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan weighed in on the possibility of Castillo being taken out of the starting rotation when he joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday.
“I think it all depends on where Luis Castillo’s frame of mind is,” Passan said. “If Luis Castillo is open to going to the bullpen, you consider that. And if he is not, then you take a look and see what his willingness to go on the injured list is. And if that’s not the case, then maybe you do consider a six-man rotation. I think there are just lots of different possibilities here.”
For Passan, what Castillo has done for the organization, which includes helping the team reach the playoffs twice, is also an important part of the equation.
“I think what also factors in is Luis Castillo has done this for a really long time at a really high level and been a really important part of the success that you’ve had organizationally, and I don’t take that lightly,” Passan said. “I think the way that you treat people who have done right by you and helped you get into the position (you’re in), they’re not disposable. So you can’t just say to Luis Castillo, you’re not performing right now, you’re going to the pen.
“Well, you could. I just don’t know how well that goes over and I don’t know what sort of precedent that sets for treatment of players going forward.”
Passan added that moving Castillo to the bullpen is the type of “cold” decision a contender has to make sometimes, but that having a productive Castillo is also key for the team.
“Having a productive Luis Castillo makes them much likelier to be a World Series team,” Passan said. “You can get rid of your manager and survive that. But knowing that Castillo has to be around still, you just need to be mindful of the way – not even the way that you’re treating him, because the way that you’re treating him is through your perspective. The question is, how does he feel like he’s being treated? That is imperative here, and if you can thread the needle and figure out a way to solve your problem while still keeping Luis Castillo content, then that’s the ideal (situation). That’s the goal, that is the aim of this whole thing. And it’s a very delicate and difficult subject.”
Castillo in line for positive regression?
While it has been a struggle for Castillo early on, Passan sees some reason to believe his numbers will level out with more starts. He pointed to Castillo’s 4.25 FIP, which is nearly identical to Bryan Woo’s and better than Logan Gilbert’s. However, he is concerned with Castillo’s career-low groundball rate.
“Ever since he’s come to Seattle, he’s been much more of a flyball pitcher. But he’s down to a 33% ground ball rate this year. Not good,” Passan said. “I will say this, the positive regression is going to come in the form of runners being stranded. He’s got a strand rate right now of only 58.8%, league average is somewhere in the 70-plus range.”
Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
Seattle Mariners coverage
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