Seahawks training camp 1st days: Invoking Michael Jordan; Tory Horton’s back

Mike Macdonald gathered his players inside the main auditorium of Seahawks headquarters.

It was Sunday morning. It was the start of day two of a training camp that will soon become a hot, sweaty grind.

The 39-year-old first-time head coach has a massive challenge in this camp. He must find news way to motivate his players who won the Super Bowl five months ago — some of whom got paid royally for that (Jaxon Smith-Njigba, $169 million), others who are about to (Devon Witherspoon, a deal at perhaps $31 million per year incoming). The coach must get his guys to reload, re-dedicate and do it all over again.

Sunday morning, Macdonald changed it up. His new message to his players was about a sports immortal.

Mike Macdonald talked Michael Jordan.

Pro Bowl veteran safety Julian Love, a native of Chicago, loved that.

“What new am I learning (about Macdonald)? He’s GOOOD, man,” Love said following practice Sunday. “We had a good talk today. His team meeting was on point today, talking about the early (Jordan) Bulls teams, the ‘91 team, how they got over the hump.”

Macdonald told his Seahawks the story of how those 1991 Chicago Bulls, after years of Jordan being other-wordly and winning four league scoring titles individually, finally won the team’s first NBA title. Macdonald told the Seahawks how Jordan famously followed coach Phil Jackson’s approach by ceding some of his wondrous scoring and individualism to better the entire Bulls team.

Only then did the Bulls finally vanquish the rival Detroit Pistons, and finally won it all.

“Him being selfless enough to dial it back a little bit,” Maconald told the Seahawks of early 1990s Jordan.

“Understand that WE get the job done.”

Love called it another new “nugget” Macdonald gave to his Seahawks Sunday.

“Basically the message is, his message is, the new thing, the little nugget that he gave to us is: Man, that ‘12 As One’ is real,” Love said. “The more we dive into and invest into each other, the more good we will receive out of this whole deal.”

That was the players’ off-the-field highlight on the first weekend of this Super Bowl-champions, Hard Knocks training camp.

The on-field highlights included the return of their game-breaking wide receiver and kick returner.

NFL Films/HBO Hard Knocks film/sound crews all over Cooper Kupp’s, Jake Bobo’s conversation, all over #Seahawks training camp’s 1st practice.

They installed robotic cameras in the team meeting rooms+ Mike Macdonald’s/John Schneider’s offices. Handheld cameras inside locker room pic.twitter.com/0Ln1oonu62

— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) July 26, 2026

Tory Horton is back

Tory Horton is on the field for the first time since a major shin injury ended his rookie season for Seattle last November.

Thought to be a candidate to join Nick Emmanwori, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh and others on the physically-unable-to-perform list, Horton instead began camp practicing. He was running smoothly. He glided while catching passes from quarterback Sam Darnold in group drills, and punts from Michael Dickson in special-teams drills.

Horton stayed out and watched 11-on-11 team drills in the first two practices. During 7-on-7 drills Sunday between receivers and defensive backs, Horton was on another field running routes without passes thrown to him while a trainer watched.

“Yeah, it’s great. I know Nick’s getting a lot of attention, as he probably should. But the guys that we had return-to-play programs (on) since the end of the season, all those guys are participating right now,” Macdonald said.

That list includes tight end AJ Barner. He had offseason surgeries on his shoulder and ankle, two injuries he bulled through while starting all 17 regular-season games and all three playoff games for Seattle last season.

“It’s great to see Tory back out there,” Macdonald said of the 6-foot-2, 196-pound receiver and returner.

“We haven’t seen 15 doing this thing in a minute.”

Horton had a knee injury prematurely end his final college season at Colorado State in 2024. He was a star of Seahawks training camp last summer, and of the team’s wins over the Saints and Washington Commanders with touchdowns.

His shin injury preceded the Seahawks trading for Rashid Shaheed from the New Orleans Saints in November.

Now with Horton plus Shaheed back, re-signed to a $51 million deal following his hugely valuable final two months of last season, the Seahawks have two deep, speed receivers. Macdonald and new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury envision Horton with Shaheed opening more open, intermediate routes with Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Barner and more against conflicted pass defenses.

We’ll see. But so far (way early), so good for that idea.

Running-back rotation

With Kenneth Walker gone in free agency to Kansas City and fellow running backs Charbonnet plus Kenny McIntosh on the PUP list watching the end of these practices in sweats, coaches are working Jadarian Price.

A lot.

The rookie running back and first-round draft choice is catching — and sometimes dropping — pass after pass in early camp practices.

Jadarian Price getting drilled—a lot—in the passing game in these first days of #Seahawks training camp.

The rookie RB and 1st-round pick has been on the 1st-, 2nd and 3rd-team offenses in 11 on 11. Coaches maximizing his reps.@thenewstribunepic.twitter.com/xQOUod5CId

— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) July 26, 2026

The pass game is what Price, whom the Seahawks drafted a month after Super Bowl MVP Walker to sign for three years and $43 million with Kansas City, says he needs to improve most in the NFL. He rarely caught passes or pass blocked as the backup to star running back Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame.

Love was the third pick in this year’s draft, to the Seahawks’ NFC West-rival Arizona Cardinals.

After new Seahawks running backs coach Thomas Hammock threw to Price in position drills Sunday, the rookie was doing more of that plus running on outside-zone plays for the first-, second- and third-team offenses. Price is one of the only Seahawks catching passes from all the quarterbacks — Darnold, backup Drew Lock and third-stringer Jalen Milroe — in scrimmages.

George Holani has been the first running back in each of Hammock’s running-back drills. The third-year veteran from Boise State also has been RB1 with the first-team offense in most of the 11-on-11 scrimmaging through two practices. That’s what Holani was in Seattle’s spring practices, too.

Pass catching and pass blocking have been Holani’s specialties for the Seahawks. It’s the reason he’s stuck with the team since being an undrafted free agent in 2024.

“Honestly, whatever role the staff has for me, I’m just ready to go,” Holani said Sunday. “Whatever they need me to do, I’m just going out there to continue to compete and showcase what I can do.”

Price has been alternating with Holani as the running back with Darnold and the starting offense. So far.

Price dropped two passes in Hammock’s position drills Saturday. He ran the wrong route when Darnold threw short outside and Price kept running deeper down the field inside during a 7-on-7 drill. The veteran QB tapped the rookie on top of his helmet while discussing that mistake with him.

Price had a better day Sunday. In 11 on 11 Darnold threw outside left on a swing pass to Price he turned into a nice gain running past defenders up the sideline. Later, Price bent low with his arms and hands scraping the grass to catch Milroe’s low throw outside. Price made a tumbling catch of that in front of linebacker Ja’Markis Weston.

How does Macdonald evaluate his running backs regarding the depth chart and playing time this early in camp?

He doesn’t.

“It’s hard to right now. We are focused on execution. And there’s things you can see in this type of environment,” the head coach said. “We’re going to be relying on our coaches a lot, our personnel folks, the things they see. It’s one of those things where it plays itself out.

“You’ve seen the way we’ve operated. It’s not like we’re making cut-and-dry decisions going into the first game. Those things are always a discussion on how we want to move and shake throughout the season too. We’re in a good spot right now and we got guys coming back which is a positive. We’ll see how it goes.”

Cooper Kupp still impressing

Kupp is beginning his second Seahawks training camp. The 33-year-old, 10th-year NFL veteran and former Super Bowl MVP with the Los Angeles Rams scoffed this spring when The News Tribune asked him this spring if he considered retiring this offseason, going out on top with a second Super Bowl ring.

“Oh, no. Never for a second,” Kupp said June 4.

Sunday he showed why he’s still playing.

Kupp raced down the left sideline in an 11-on-11 scrimmage. Darnold’s pass was over Kupp’s left, outside shoulder and sent Kupp veering past cornerback Josh Jobe into the sideline boundary. The pass was also too far. Kupp dived, turned and with his left arm extended cradled the arriving ball into the crook of his left arm inside his elbow. He did all that while staying inbounds.

Love, arriving late to the catch from the middle of the field, shook his head at Kupp.

The crowd on the nearby grass berm roared. Then they yelled “COOOOOP!!!!” at the Yakima native.

It was the best, most athletic play of camp’s first two days.

“That’s Cooper Kupp for you,” Smith-Njigba, the reigning NFL offensive player of the year Kupp was for 2021 with the Rams, said. “Great concentration with the left hand, diving.

“You don’t see that often. (Yet) he makes it regular and brushes it off. But it’s a spectacular play and something he has in his arsenal.S

“Still has in his arsenal.”

Kids yell “COOOOOP!!!” as Cooper Kupp runs out for the second practice of #Seahawks training camp. @thenewstribunepic.twitter.com/fsqrQBlIKE

— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) July 26, 2026

Extra points

*With Emmanwori on the PUP list not practicing, fifth-year veteran D’Anthony Bell is getting the big-nickel, safety/hybrid outside-linebacker reps Emmanwori gets with the starting defense.

More on Bell and his big opportunity is coming up this week in The News Tribune.

*Macdonald keeps sending Bell, Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon and others off the edges on defensive-back blitzes. And the offense keeps failing to pick them up. The blitzers have been unblocked, for what would be sacks. Witherspoon was crowing to the offense about that after he got in free again during scrimmaging Sunday.

Dante Fowler, the 12th-year veteran the Seahawks signed this offseason to add to the edge rushing, practiced Sunday. He did not practice Saturday. Fowler, 31, was on the second-team defense.

Derick Hall and Uchenna Nwosu have been the starting, veteran outside linebackers off the edges.

*Nwosu, 29 going into his ninth NFL season, ruined two consecutive running plays outside right in 11-on-11 scrimmage. The first he broke through the line unblocked and grabbed Holani in the backfield. The second play he got under fullback Robbie Ouzts to beat that lead block and stop Price in the backfield. Or would have, had they been in full pads and were tackling.

*The NFL Films/HBO Hard Knocks camera persons and sound folks are everywhere. At one point during 11-on-11 scrimmaging, cameras were on the ground along the line of scrimmage. Meanwhile, four overhead boom microphones were hovering over the defensive and offensive players massed behind the offensive huddle

The boom mics love to follow the chatty, brash Witherspoon around. He’s poised to be a star of the series that begins with the first episode airing Aug. 4. The last Hard Knocks episode on the Seahawks’ training camp is Sept. 1.

*Rookie Beau Stephens did something Seahawks players haven’t done in training camps before: He grabbed the DJ’s microphone at the end of warmups and as special-teams drills were beginning to start practice Sunday. And the fifth-round draft pick and guard from Iowa bellowed, loudly, at the fans.

“I”M YOUR HYPE MAN FOR TRAINING CAMP!” Stephens yelled at them.

In his day job, Stephens remains the third-team right guard. Anthony Bradford is again the starter. Christian Haynes has been the second right guard.

Coach John Benton drilling his #Seahawks offensive linemen on the sled in day 2 of training camp. Sunday fans getting an up-close view.@thenewstribunepic.twitter.com/YM4IBuEKqt

— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) July 26, 2026