By Khalid Bennett
Sports Editor
After a 17-16 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs Saturday afternoon, The Seattle Seahawks were back to work at the VMAC Monday morning preparing for their second preseason game this Thursday against the Minnesota Vikings. At home for first time this year, the Seahawks look to improve on their 1-0 preseason record against a Vikings team that lost 10-9 to the Seahawks last year in the playoffs.
The return of Thomas Rawls from injury last week boosted the depth at the running back position. However, Rawls did not play in the game and it is still unclear how much time, if any, he will see in the preseason. Running back Christine Michael received the majority of the carries against the Chiefs, and appears to be making the most of his second and possibly final opportunity to make an impact on the Seahawks’ roster. Michael rushed for 44 yards on 7 carries Saturday and head coach Pete Caroll says that right now, he will split carries with Rawls once Rawls is 100% healthy.
The injury to Rawls last year opened up an opportunity for Michael to return to the team after traded last season, but Michael is in the middle of a spirited battle at running back to make the final 53-man roster. Last season, Seahawks’ offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell had mentioned the possibility of having a running back by committee philosophy even with Marshawn Lynch on the roster. This season, that statement seems more accurate. With rookie CJ Procise back at practice and the team looking to use him in “specific roles,” the days of having one premier back on this team may be over for the time being.
“We still got a lot of guys, CJ (Procise) hasn’t practiced much Zach (Brooks) hasn’t practiced much C Mike (Christine Michael) is making a great name for himself in practice,” said Bevell said after Tuesday’s practice.
In practice on Tuesday, quarterback Trevonne Boykin took reps with both the first and second offensive units possibly preparing for an extended role and more significant playing time in Thursday’s game against the Vikings. The rookie QB from TCU was able to engineer a late game winning drive on Saturday capped off with a touchdown pass to receiver Tanner McEvoy as time expired. Boykin finished with 188 yards passing, completing 16 of 26 attempts. With Russell Wilson and Jake Heaps as the other quarterbacks at camp, Boykin looks to be the clear choice as Wilson’s back up.
With a skill set very similar to Wilson, Boykin tends to meet the criteria needed to run this offense. It’s hard to imagine this team without Russell Wilson, who has not missed a start in his NFL career, but the team looks to be getting more comfortable each day with Boykin as the number two quarterback as he improves throughout camp.
