Macdonald liked intensity of fight-filled practice

RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald liked the intensity his players showed during a fight-filled Wednesday practice, though he said Thursday that they have to keep their poise.

That was the extent of the disapproval he expressed while speaking to local media for the first time since at least five separate scuffles broke out a day earlier, including one in which star receiver DK Metcalf grabbed cornerback Tre Brown‘s helmet and swung it at him. Earlier in practice, Brown landed a punch on Jake Bobo — right after the receiver’s helmet had come off — that left his nose bloodied.

“Like I said, we’re right there on the edge,” Macdonald said. “At this point in camp, we’re tired of going against one another, so there’s an edge to us, which is good to a degree. And then we just have to make sure that we keep our poise in certain situations, because at the end of the day, we want to take care of one another, and we’re all wearing the same helmet.”

That comment was part of Macdonald’s response to a question about Metcalf speaking to the team after Wednesday’s practice. Metcalf remained in practice after his fight with Brown and also took part in Thursday’s walk-through, which was conflict-free.

“DK’s a leader on this team,” Macdonald said. “We look to him. As he goes, we’re going to go for a lot of where we want to go as a football team. As expected, he had a great message, the guys were in.”

Macdonald declined to relay the gist of what Metcalf told his teammates.

“I’ll leave that — just trust me, it was a great message,” he said. “It was what we needed to hear, but I’ll leave that to the guys.”

After Brown and Metcalf fought, Macdonald cut the music and paused practice, calling the entire team around him. Two more fights broke out later in practice, including one between outside linebacker Derick Hall and guard Christian Haynes that got both players thrown out.

“It was positive,” Macdonald said of his mid-practice address to the team. “It was just … a reminder of what we’re trying to achieve here. Let’s take a deep breath and let’s make sure we close out practice the right way, and to the guys’ credit, I thought we did that.”

The Seahawks open their preseason schedule Saturday against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium and then head to Nashville for joint practices next week with the Tennessee Titans.

Macdonald said that, as of now, he doesn’t think quarterback Geno Smith will play Saturday. Smith has practiced the past four days after missing the previous four practices as he underwent testing on hip and knee injuries.

“Seamlessly,” Macdonald said when asked how Smith has bounced back this week from his injuries and absence. “He’s out there, he’s rolling, he looks good, he looks sharp. Excited about where we’re at as an offense.”

Macdonald said tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones and outside linebacker Darrell Taylor are trending towards being able to practice next week. All four took part in Thursday’s walk-through, which marked Jones’ first action since injuring his hamstring on July 26.

Linebacker Jerome Baker (hamstring) remained sidelined.

The Seahawks have yet to sign Connor Williams after reaching an agreement with the veteran offensive lineman earlier this week on a one-year deal, but Macdonald expects that to happen this weekend. He said the plan is still for Williams to play center, and that the Seahawks are working through when he’ll start practicing. Williams is coming off a torn ACL on Dec. 11.