After one play, a relatively meaningless preseason game with no starters playing meant even less.
Popular, emerging rookie safety Bud Clark got carted off the field with an air cast on his lower right leg after getting injured on the Seahawks’ first defensive snap. His teammates were distraught coming onto the field to console him, and themselves.
The one thing NFL teams absolutely don’t want to have in the preseason, major injuries, happened to the Super Bowl champions twice in three days in Tennessee. Wide receiver Jake Bobo suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Seahawks’ joint practice versus the Titans Friday.
The rest of the game was played out of obligation, to the league, its FOX television partner broadcasting it live — and those battling for the final spots on Seattle’s loaded roster.
Tennessee won 19-16 by scoring its first touchdown of the game with 5:45 left. It came one snap after Seahawks reserve linebacker Jalan Gaines lost containing the right edge on a fourth down inside the 10-yard line. Quarterback Will Levis ran around Gaines for a first and goal at the 2.
Quarterback Drew Lock was sharp playing the entire first half.
Third QB Jalen Milroe was not sharp, again, playing the second half.
Seattle is 0-2 this preseason without any of its 22 starters playing a snap so far. The Seahawks finish the preseason Friday at Kansas City. The starters likely aren’t going to play in that one, either.
The real season begins in 17 days, Sept. 9 in the NFL kick-off showcase at Lumen Field against New England.
That is probably going to be the first time the champs, the players who won Super Bowl 60 in February, will have played since that title game 6 1/2 months ago.
NFL offensive player of the year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, quarterback Sam Darnold, Pro Bowl veteran defensive stars Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love, Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence, middle linebacker Ernest Jones plus the rest of the 22 starters on the Seahawks offense and defense did not play Sunday night. They bowed their heads and prayed when Clark got hurt. They led cheers and waved towels celebrating big play by the reserves, as they did last weekend in the team’s first preseason game against Dallas.
Rookie first-round draft choice Jadarian Price also did not play. The presumed lead running back for the opener Sept. 9 against New England was in full pads and full go during pregame warm-ups. He took handoffs and caught passes from all three quarterbacks. Then he also watched from the sidelines as running back Jacardia Wight romped and tried to win one of those final roster spots.
Price is coming off missing a week of training camp with upper-leg soreness. He’s not expected to play at all this preseason, including the final exhibition game Friday at Kansas City.
Sam Darnold flipping a pass out to top rookie Jadarian Price top of the screen. Expecting that to be about all they do on the field in uniform tonight at Tennessee.#Seahawks starters not expected to play, on offense or defense.
Titans starters expected to play the 1st half. pic.twitter.com/A2G8qHQdfH
The Seahawks’ backup offense led by number-two quarterback Drew Lock moved right down the field against Tennessee’s starting defense throughout Seattle’s 16-point first quarter.
A seven-play, 79-yard drive to begin the game ended with Lock finding second-year tight end Elijah Arroyo open down the left hash marks with a pass that hit him in stride. Arroyo’s 36-yard touchdown continued a standout preseason and training camp for the second-round draft choice in 2025.
The Seahawks finally got the “cost-of-doing-business” penalty for celebration coach Mike Macdonald has been daring his starters who aren’t playing to get off the sideline in a preseason game. Smith-Njigba led the starters sprinting half the field then running onto it to jump all over Arroyo and smack him with towels. That earned a 15-yard penalty from the officials.
Jason Myers missed the extra-long point-after kick.
#Seahawks finally get the “cost-of-doing business” unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for running off the bench to celebrate Jacardia Wright’s 69-yard touchdown burst 1Q at Tennessee.
Most notably, Zach Charbonnet jogged off the sideline to join in. He’s 26 in white here. pic.twitter.com/3ZDv4prdxC
Jacardia Wright, back after missing much of this month with a leg injury, looked fully healthy sprinting through the middle of Tennessee’s defense untouched for a 69-yard touchdown. That ended Seattle’s second drive against the Titans’ starters midway through the first quarter.
Wright played with Lock throughout the first half. Wright had 81 yards on eight carries.
Lock completed his first 10 passes. He calmly avoided Tennessee’s blitzes by Titans head coach and former Seahawks defensive assistant Robert Saleh. Lock converted three of Seattle’s first four third downs on offense. His first, official incomplete pass came with 4 minutes gone in the second quarter.
Lock had an interception in the first quarter wiped out by a debatable penalty on Tennessee for illegal contact by a defensive back on a Seattle receiver early in that play.
He played the entire first half, completing 12 of 14 passes for 103 yards and the touchdown to Arroyo.
Lock nearly had a second touchdown pass in the first half. Montorie Foster Jr. laid out diving to reach Lock’s deep ball into the end zone. Foster had the ball between both his hands for what he thought was a catch and score. Officials spotted the ball also hit the ground between Foster’s hands grabbing it, so the pass was incomplete. It would have been Foster’s second touchdown in as many preseason games.
On the next snap, Myers missed a 44-yard field goal.
Jalen Milroe’s nightThird quarterback Jalen Milroe entered the game for Seattle’s first possession after halftime.
On his second snap, he did what Macdonald said coaches want to see more of: The speedy, elusive QB taking off running decisively after looking to throw when he knows he can beat slower edge defenders. He did that for a 16-yard gain. Milroe then stood in the pocket and threw a 24-yard strike across the middle to Foster, the high-school substitute teacher in Ohio who keeps making plays.
Foster may next make the team, after Bobo’s season-ending injury Friday.
On his second drive, leading the game 16-9, Milroe did what almost always gets a QB an interception in the NFL: He threw late over the middle. His throw was also far behind Foster, directly into the chest of Tennessee rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. That poor throw gave Tennessee a drive start at the Seattle 38-yard line.
The reserve defense thought it had a third-down stop to force a field goal. But the Seahawks had 12 men on the field for a penalty. Linebacker Connor O’Toole then dumped quarterback Will Levis on an option play to ruin third and 3 at the Seattle 20.
The Titans settled for that field goal. The Seahawks still led, 16-12, into the fourth quarter.
Milroe thought he had a 30-yard completion to Ricky White III with 5 minutes left. But officials called the wide receiver for pushing off the Titans cornerback to create space for that catch. The offensive pass-interference penalty led to a fourth down.
For the second consecutive week, Milroe held the ball looking for a seeming eternity to throw on fourth down. For the second consecutive week, he took a sack there instead of throwing the ball even into traffic, as coaches will again tell him to do on fourth down.
That turnover on downs in Seattle territory led to a Titans fourth down at the Seahawks 8. Seattle’s defensive line got the stop on an inside run.
On the next play, with 3 minutes left down by 3, Milroe scrambled right to escape a pass rusher. He threw for Emmanuel Henderson Jr. The rookie wide receiver fell down before the ball zipped through where he’d been standing right to a Titans defender behind him for a bad-luck interception.
Milroe finished 6 for 11 passing for 52 yards and the two interceptions.
Third cornerback battleOne of the only position battles opening among those who will play regularly this season is for the third-cornerback job. That’s basically a starter for Seattle, with how Macdonald uses five- and six-defensive-back schemes as his base defense.
Trevon Diggs, signed this past week, was in full pads participating fully in pregame warmups. Then the 2021 All-Pro cornerback with the Dallas Cowboys watched the game on the sideline with the veteran starters. He’s trying to quickly get into football shape, not having been in full pads from mid-January until Friday’s joint practice here.
Trevon Diggs across the field in new number 16 warming up in tackling and pass-defense drills with #Seahawks cornerbacks pregame at Tennessee. The former Cowboys All-Pro CB had his first Seattle practice Friday. Quick ramp up to see if he can play preseason finale Friday at KC pic.twitter.com/E1G0KJkljq
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) August 23, 2026The Seahawks are likely to sign Terrion Arnold this coming week. They agreed on a deal last week. He’ll likely be on layaway; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to put the former Detroit Lions starting cornerback and first-round pick on his exempt list. Arnold is facing eight felony charges related to an alleged kidnapping and burglary in Tampa, Florida.
Nehemiah Pritchett and Noah Igbinoghene entered Sunday night as the available players competing for the job.
Pritchett helped himself. Late in the second quarter he made a fine play avoiding a block then dumping Chimere Dike immediately after the catch on the Titans wide receiver’s bubble-screen pass. Pritchett’s tackle helped end the drive and force Tennessee into a field goal that made the score 16-9 at halftime.
Seahawks coaches have been wanting better, more consistent tackling from Pritchett, the team’s fifth-round pick from Auburn in 2024.
Igbinoghene hurt himself with a defensive pass interference penalty in the first quarter, though his contact running with Tennessee receiver Calvin Ridley down the left sideline on a third-and-8 incomplete pass was minimal. The 14-yard penalty and first down for the Titans didn’t hurt Seattle. A sack by linebacker Chazz Surratt led to Tennessee punting, keeping the Seahawks’ lead at 16-3 into the second quarter.
NT Brandon Pili's diggin' hard on the pass rush going after QB Trubisky is what drew that Titans holding penalty to negate a touchdown pass. TEN settling for a field goal.#Seahawks coaches will highlight that in film as a 4-point effort play by Pili.
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) August 24, 2026Rookie helps himselfThe Seahawks drafted Emmanuel Henderson Jr. this spring in the sixth round for his special-teams prowess in college at Alabama then Kansas. He was an elite gunner in college, running down the sideline as the far, flank punt-cover guy to tackle returners soon after the fielded punts.
Henderson did that twice exquisitely Sunday night. The first time, he sprinted from the opposite side of the field to help Cody White drop Tennessee’s returner for a 1-yard loss.
Henderson continues to show he can replace departed Dareke Young as Seattle’s primary punt gunner this season. Young signed in the offseason with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Henderson also had one reception for 7 yards in the first half.
Extra points*O’Toole had a sack plus that third-down tackle for loss on Levis in a stellar third quarter.
*Tackle Josh Jones has had an underwhelming offseason and preseason. Sunday the veteran swing backup tackle had a false start in the first half. Then Titans defensive end Malik Herring pushed Jones into Lock following the quarterback’s pass, toppling Lock to the ground.
*Velus Jones Jr. had a 24-yard run called back by a holding penalty at the point of attack by recently signed fullback Brock Lampe.
Brady Russell is likely to be the only fullback on the 53-man roster, and he also plays tight end.
Leave a Comment