Jan 5, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Mike Macdonald on the sidelines in the fourth quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald sets expectations for deciding key positional battles

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Russell Baxter | Last updated Jun 15, 2025 9:34 AM ET

Mike Macdonald’s first season as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2024 resulted in a 10-7 record but no playoff appearance. Led by GM John Schneider, the team did a major makeover when it came to its offense—namely at quarterback and wide receiver. Now the ‘Hawks are looking to shore up an offensive line that was ranked next-to-last in the NFL by Pro Football Focus in 2024.

“The Seahawks expect to take significant strides with their offensive line play,” said John Boyle of Seahawks.com, “in part because they used their first-round pick on guard Grey Zabel, and also because Kubiak's scheme, which will emphasize the run game, utilizes more play-action and puts the quarterback on the move with rollouts, should help the line from a schematic standpoint. There's also the presence of new offensive line coach John Benton, run game coordinator Rick Dennison and run game specialist/assistant offensive line coach Justin Outten, all veteran NFL coaches who should help get the most out of players.

“But while the Seahawks are confident that they'll be better up front,” added Boyle, “they do not yet know who their starting five will be. Charles Cross is a sure thing at left tackle, fellow 2022 draft pick Abraham Lucas is the starter at right tackle, and Zabel is expected to start at left guard, but the competition is fully on at center and right guard.”

Coach Mike Macdonald says #Seahawks would like to settle on starters at center (Jalen Sundell vs Oly Oluwatimi right now), right guard (Christian Haynes vs Anthony Bradford) “sooner than later” into training camp.

Says Bradford has improved his body, and knows it’s go time. pic.twitter.com/5ksxjKjKRw
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) June 11, 2025

“There’s a lot of competition,” explained Macdonald. “We haven’t settled some of the spots, and that means we have a lot of guys that are options, so it’s exciting.”

Boyle added that “the Seahawks don’t want to rush decisions on those jobs, but they don’t want to let it drag too far into camp either if they can avoid it.”

“I think we would like to make some decisions sooner than later,” said Macdonald, “but we’re going to let the play speak for itself. We’re not going to force the decision. We’re going to be intentional in what happens probably within the first two weeks.”