For the first time in his NFL career, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is not going to play in the team’s first preseason game.
Wilson has historically started and played the first series or two of Seattle’s preseason opener, eventually ceding to the backup quarterbacks for the rest of the game.
However, when the Seahawks host the Broncos on Thursday, Wilson will give way to Geno Smith, who is locked in a position battle with Paxton Lynch.
“Russell’s not going to play tomorrow,” coach Pete Carroll said after Wednesday’s walkthrough. “We’ve got a big competition at the quarterback position in particular. We want these guys to play as much as they can and play their way into their spots. I don’t want this to be a decision we have to make without a lot of great information. That’s what’s most important right now.”
Wilson missed his first training camp practice ever last week to attend the funeral of his grandfather, but he flew back in time to participate in Seattle’s scrimmage game at Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell.
Carroll also noted that the first-team offense got a lot of additional reps during Tuesday’s practice, which was done so that they could play the younger guys more on Thursday.
“Yesterday we had a big practice for the ones, they had tons of work out here,” Carroll said. “It was a little bit different emphasis for us, where they got almost twice as much work as they normally would get going into a game to compensate for the plays that they don’t get. I think that we might have gained ground by doing that.”
Seahawks fans who are attending Thursday’s game will get a chance to see a lot of Seattle’s younger players in their first NFL game, but barring a last-minute change they won’t get to see Wilson out on the field.
