Here’s a daily position-by-position look at where things stand for the Seattle Seahawks heading into organized team activities, minicamp and training camp this summer.
Defensive backs
The Legion of Boom lost one starter from last year when cornerback Byron Maxwell signed with the Eagles, but the remaining three starters are the best in the business -- cornerback Richard Sherman, strong safety Kam Chancellor and free safety Earl Thomas. Who fills in behind them is the question, especially at safety, where depth is a concern after losing Jeron Johnson in free agency.
Safeties: Starters -- Chancellor and Thomas. Top backups -- DeShawn Shead, Ryan Murphy. Other candidates: Steven Terrell, Ronald Martin, Dion Bailey, Triston Wade and Keenan Lambert.
The Seahawks likely will start training camp with Chancellor and Thomas on the sidelines, still recovering from injuries. Thomas had shoulder surgery and Chancellor had a torn MCL in his knee. The fact that both men played the entire Super Bowl with those injuries is remarkable and tells you a lot about their commitment. Both players are expected to be ready to go by the start of the regular season.
The good news of this situation is the backup candidates are going to see a lot of action in camp and in the preseason games.
One guy who will get a long look is Murphy, the team’s seventh-round draft choice from Oregon State. He was impressive at rookie minicamp, coming up with a diving interception and showing good coverage skills.
Another interesting prospect is Lambert, who is Chancellor's half-brother. Lambert (6-foot, 210 pounds) is a rookie free agent from Norfolk State. We’ll see what he learned from his big brother.
Shead, a big defensive back at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds who also can play cornerback, is the one veteran backup for the Seahawks.
Bailey, a rookie out of USC last year, will get a lot of practice time at free safety to see how he handles it. Martin is another rookie who looked good in minicamp. He had an interception on the last day on rookie camp. Martin is a big safety (6-foot-1, 215) from LSU who is accustomed to physical play.
Cornerbacks: Starters -- Sherman and Cary Williams. Top backups: Marcus Burley, Jeremy Lane, Tharold Simon. Others candidates: Tye Smith, Will Blackmon.
Sherman is the best cornerback in football, but he is recovering from a torn ligament in his elbow. He elected not to have Tommy John surgery, which often is the plan for baseball pitchers. But Sherman doesn’t need to throw fastballs.
Williams basically swapped spots with Maxwell. Williams was a starting cornerback with the Eagles before signing with Seattle as a free agent. On the surface, it appears the Seahawks got the lesser end of the deal. But Williams is a veteran who fits well in Seattle’s system of aggressive press coverage.
The worst news for the Seahawks is that Lane, the starting nickelback, probably won’t be ready to return until midseason. Lane suffered a nasty compound fracture of his arm and a torn ACL on his interception in the Super Bowl. It means Burley, who played well last season after being acquired from the Colts, is the likely starter in nickel coverage as the slot corner.
Simon, who was torched by Tom Brady in the Super Bowl after Lane left the game, is coming off shoulder surgery and may not be ready to go at the start of camp.
The Seahawks added some insurance by bringing back 30-year-old veteran Will Blackmon as a free-agent signee. He was with the team in the 2013 training camp before being released.
Smith is the Seahawks' fifth-round draft choice out of Towson. He had a hamstring injury in rookie camp, so it’s a wait-and-see situation with how quickly he picks things up.