Even with news (via a tweet from The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta) that they’d be receiving their Super Bowl rings following Thursday’s practice, things got a bit heated at Seahawks minicamp this afternoon.
As Condotta writes in his Seahawks blog, the fracas began when wideout Bryan Walters hurt his shoulder after attempting a diving catch. Safety Earl Thomas was covering the play, and while Condotta didn’t have a clear view on the amount of contact, Seattle’s offensive players seemed to think it was a dirty hit.
The two teams jawed at each other before lining up for another play. While running down field, wide receiver Phil Bates and cornerback Richard Sherman got locked up and the fists came out. Bates appeared to have thrown a punch before the players were broken up. Thomas and receiver Doug Baldwin continued to jaw at each other while Percy Harvin had to be held back by Marshawn Lynch.
Practice soon resumed, and (perhaps intentionally) Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy” was soon heard playing.
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn had an explanation:
“They are such a tight group of guys that they don’t want to give an inch sometimes, both offensively and defensively. Most good teams are close and tight like that where they can practice like that. They were just having fun.”
Fun…that sounds about right. Let’s check out other news from the NFC West:
- Seahawks tackle Russell Okung has left Authentic Athletix and is believed to be without an NFL agent at present, tweets Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal.
- 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh says the 49ers are unlikely to fill their 90th roster spot until after minicamp, tweets Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee. San Francisco had a spot open up after the retirement of Eric Wright.
- 49ers wideout Brandon Lloyd kept busy during his season off and rarely thought about football. However, when he came across the opportunity to join the team that drafted him in 2003, it was something that Lloyd couldn’t refuse. “It was more about getting to play with the 49ers again, and the opportunity to win, and maybe bring a certain amount of closure to my career,” he told Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today. “I don’t think there was anything that I was pushing hard for. The opportunity presented itself to me.”
Zach Links contributed to this post.