Starting right guard Anthony Bradford left Seattle Seahawks OTAs early Wednesday with a minor knee injury, ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported from the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, the only notable health scare from an otherwise routine session.
Bradford stayed on the field initially, received an ice wrap on the knee, removed it, and walked around before the training staff decided not to return him to his spot at right guard. This is the non-contact portion of the voluntary workout program, and with training camp roughly six weeks away, the Seahawks have every reason to keep Bradford off the field until that knee is 100 percent. Caution here isn’t concern; it’s common sense.
Bradford Injury and Anthony Bradford Knee Injury: What We Know
Bradford, a 2023 fourth-round pick out of LSU, enters the final year of his rookie contract under real competitive pressure. Per ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Bradford had been turning heads in the early portion of OTAs after spending the post-Super Bowl period training with offensive line specialist Duke Manyweather in Frisco, Texas, a detail that makes Wednesday’s early exit more frustrating than alarming.
He has a documented history of soft-tissue issues. In 2024, Bradford started all 11 games he played in before an ankle injury landed him on injured reserve. He was healthy for the full 2025 run, including Seattle’s Super Bowl LX victory over the New England Patriots, but durability questions have followed him throughout his NFL career.
Brady Henderson reported Wednesday’s session on X, detailing the moment Bradford left the field:
This is also a reminder that the Seahawks aren’t building with Bradford as a certainty. Fifth-round rookie Beau Stephens, an All-American out of Iowa who brings the kind of physical toughness the organization prizes, arrived just weeks ago and is already viewed internally as Bradford’s long-term competition. The Seahawks are fielding an interesting offseason on the line front, and “Seahawks Fielding Trade Calls on No. 32 Pick in 2026 NFL Draft” gives context for how aggressively this front office is moving pieces.
Christian Haynes Steps In
When Bradford went down, the player who took his first-team reps wasn’t Stephens. It was Christian Haynes, a 2024 third-round pick who’s spent most of his young career stuck behind Bradford on the depth chart despite failing to distinguish himself as a clear-cut backup.
Haynes filling in ahead of Stephens isn’t entirely a vote of confidence; it’s more a reflection of sequencing. You don’t throw a rookie who’s been in the building for a matter of weeks into first-team OTA reps without establishing a foundation first. Still, it’s worth noting that Haynes and Stephens will compete with Bryce Cabeldue and Mason Richman for the backup spots, with at least one of those players likely destined for the practice squad when the final 53-man roster is set.
Henderson’s live updates from Wednesday’s practice captured the fluid nature of the right guard situation in real time:
Understanding the role these players compete for at right guard is one of the five offensive line positions that form the protection unit around the quarterback, as explained in detail in American Football Positions—The Definitive Guide to NFL Roles & Game-Changing Plays.
The right guard competition table below reflects the current depth chart picture heading into mandatory minicamp:
| Player | Status | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Bradford | Starter (minor knee injury) | RG1 | Final year of rookie deal; trained with Duke Manyweather this offseason |
| Christian Haynes | First backup | RG2 | Stepped into first-team reps Wednesday |
| Beau Stephens | Rookie (5th round, Iowa) | RG3 | All-American; longer-term competition for starting job |
| Bryce Cabeldue | Reserve | RG4 | Returned from knee injury at Tuesday’s OTAs |
| Mason Richman | Reserve | RG5 | Practice squad candidate |
Other OTA Notes
Wednesday’s session produced more than one storyline. Henderson was on the ground and filed several updates that paint a fuller picture of where this roster stands heading into minicamp.
Brady Henderson’s thread from Wednesday covered multiple storylines beyond Bradford:
For injury context across the league at this stage of the offseason, “Colts Injury Updates: Daniel Jones, Buckner Trending Up as Alec Pierce Sits Out OTAs” shows how other teams are managing similar non-contact period concerns.
George Holani Earning First-Team Reps
Running back George Holani took first-team reps Wednesday, a significant development for a player who spent two seasons operating almost entirely on special teams before Zach Charbonnet’s torn ACL in the divisional round playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers thrust him into a postseason role.
Holani, who signed as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State in 2024 and returned on his exclusive-rights free agent tender this offseason, is now the leading candidate to serve as the No. 2 back behind Jadarian Price while Charbonnet continues his recovery from February knee surgery. Emanuel Wilson provides depth behind those two.
Per Pro Football Reference, Holani’s NFL body of work is a modest 28 touches, 97 yards, and one touchdown across his first two regular seasons, but he logged 47 offensive snaps in the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LX, where he caught four passes for 34 yards as the Seahawks closed out their championship run. Rams’ Puka Nacua Resumes On-Field Work is another example of a key player working back to full participation during this phase of the calendar, and the Seahawks are navigating a similar patience game with Charbonnet in the background.
The Seahawks backfield has genuine uncertainty. Price, Wilson, and Holani are all competing for meaningful roles, and Charbonnet’s realistic return timeline hasn’t been publicly pinpointed beyond a general “sometime during the 2026 season” expectation.
Devon Witherspoon Contract Talks
Devon Witherspoon is at OTAs and has been throughout the voluntary portion of the offseason program, but participating in drills is a separate conversation. The Seahawks’ superstar cornerback is holding out of on-field work as the two sides continue working toward a contract extension.
Per ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Seattle made an initial offer to Witherspoon several weeks ago. The sides are not close to an agreement. Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and a three-time Pro Bowler, has his fifth-year option secured at a guaranteed $21,161,000 salary in 2027, giving both sides runway to negotiate without the pressure of an immediate deadline.
The cornerback market reset this offseason when the Los Angeles Rams signed Trent McDuffie to a four-year, $124 million deal with $100 million guaranteed after acquiring him from Kansas City. That number is the current ceiling for the position. Witherspoon’s representatives are using it as a floor.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said publicly he expects a deal to come together before or during training camp. Whether that timeline holds depends on how quickly the two sides can bridge what is clearly a meaningful gap on annual value.
The Seahawks close out their 2026 OTAs on Thursday before mandatory minicamp begins June 9–11, when attendance is no longer voluntary and when Anthony Bradford’s knee will get its next real test.
