RENTON, Wash. (AP) — John Schneider felt like the offseason went by in a blink.
Hiring Mike Macdonald as the new head coach, overseeing the hiring of the coaching staff around Macdonald and his normal offseason moves with players left Seattle’s general manager feeling a bit stunned the regular season was already here.
“It’s been a whirlwind. It really truly feels like Arizona just missed that field goal and we win the game down there, and we’ve just had our head going the whole time,” Schneider said Wednesday. “You look up and here we are getting ready to play Denver already. It’s been an everyday grind, but it’s been fun.”
Schneider has more control of the franchise now than any time in his previous 14 seasons as general manager after Pete Carroll was let go as head coach after last season. Carroll always had final say on the coaching staff and personnel; that now all falls under Schneider’s purview.
That added responsibility, plus getting to know a first-time head coach and the youngest coach in the league at age 37, left little downtime this offseason.
“Everybody is still learning each other. Seven months feels like maybe a month. The time has gone really fast,” Schneider said. “Just really impressed with the teaching that’s going on here.”
Schneider ran through some of the injuries the Seahawks face going into the opener. Most notable is outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, who Schneider said the team believes won’t need to be placed on injured reserve and could be back sometime in the first couple of weeks. Nwosu suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee in the final preseason game against Cleveland on a cut block.
Schneider didn’t rule out Week 1 for Nwosu but seemed to indicate that might be a stretch.
“If you’ve spent time with (Uchenna), this is a pro. The guy attacks the day like you want every professional football player to attack it,” Schneider said. “He’s a man and he’s going to do everything he can to get back.”
Schneider also said it remains to be seen if center Connor Williams will be up to speed enough to start the opener against Denver. Williams signed a one-year deal with Seattle during training camp coming off a torn ACL suffered last December. He’s been a full participant in practices the last couple of weeks, but Schneider said there would be discussions with the medical staff about whether Williams should go in the opener.
Schneider also was uncertain about Week 1 for safety Rayshawn Jenkins, who suffered a calf injury in practice last week.
Then there’s the situation with right tackle Abraham Lucas, who will begin the season on the physically unable to perform list. Lucas was limited to six games last season because of a lingering knee issue and has yet to participate in any on-field activities through the offseason program and training camp.
Schneider said the team believes Lucas will play this season. When is the bigger question.
“We’re going to play the long game with him and make sure we’re doing things appropriately,” Schneider said. “This is for his career, it’s not just for the 2024 season. We want to make sure we’re doing the right thing by Abe, which is also the right thing for the Seattle Seahawks. We have to be careful.”
Schneider briefly addressed a report that quarterback Geno Smith’s representatives broached the idea of a new contract. Smith is signed through the 2025 season at an average value of $25 million per season.
Schneider said “no” when asked directly if there were discussions on a new contract.
“I’ll leave the contract stuff aside. There’s a lot of people who want contract extensions, and I’m not going to get into specifics of who they are and all that,” Schneider said. “But that’s part of the job. It happens every year, all the time.”
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