Easley nominated for HOF, plus Seahawks training camp notes

First off, news of a former Seahawk as safety Kenny Easley was selected as a senior finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2017.

Easley, who was selected fourth overall in the 1981 NFL draft out of UCLA, played for Seattle from 1981-87. In those seven seasons he was named All-Pro four times, was chosen to five Pro Bowls, and in 1984 was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. His 32 interceptions ranks fourth on the Seahawks’ all-time career list.

Senior nominees are players whose careers ended at least 25 years ago. Easley will be one of 18 candidates who will be considered by the Hall’s selection committee on Feb. 4, and he will need to receive at least 80 percent of the vote to be inducted.

Easley is the only senior finalist this year. Last year there were two senior finalists, Ken Stabler and Dick Stanfel, and both were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks returned to practice Monday following Saturday’s 17-16 preseason victory at Kansas City. Here’s some notes from Monday:

Seahawks training camp 8/15/16 (2) from Everett Herald on Vimeo.

– Seattle’s shortage of running backs is easing. The biggest development Monday was seeing Thomas Rawls, the projected No. 1, participating in scrimmaging for the first time in training camp. Rawls began training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list as he continued to recover from the ankle injury that ended his 2015 season. However, he came off the PUP last week and participated in practice on a limited basis. Then on Monday he received his first action during 11-on-11 scrimmaging:

Seahawks training camp 8/15/16 (3) from Everett Herald on Vimeo.

In addition to Rawls, rookies C.J. Prosise and Zac Brooks were both back participating in practice. Both Prosise and Brooks had been out with hamstring injuries. Slowly but surely Seattle’s stable of running backs is getting back to being full.

– We continued to see the same offensive line configuration used in Saturday’s game, most notably with Garry Gilliam working at right tackle with the first unit and Bradley Sowell at left tackle. Gilliam began training camp as the starting left tackle, with J’Marcus Webb starting on the right. However, ever since Webb went down with a twisted knee last week the Seahawks have switched Gilliam back to the right side, where he played last season, and inserted Sowell on the left. Seattle coach Pete Carroll provided little clarity on the status of Webb’s injury, saying there was no timeline for his return, but said they’d carry on with the current configuration while Webb’s unavailable.

– Elsewhere on the injury front, linebacker Mike Morgan was not at practice Monday as Carroll revealed Morgan was in Philadelphia seeing a doctor about a groin issue. Carroll downplayed the injury, however, saying Morgan will play in Thursday’s preseason game against Minnesota.

Strong safety Kam Chancellor (groin) and defensive tackle Jordan Hill (groin) remained out. Carroll said Chancellor isn’t quite over the hump yet, while Hill should be ready to return at any time. However, neither is expected to be ready in time to play Thursday. Cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste, who left Saturday’s game with a shoulder injury, did not practice Monday and was wearing a sling on his left arm.

– There was another development at fullback as Kyle Coleman received some work at the position Monday. Coleman had spent all camp as a middle linebacker.

The Seahawks have overturned every stone trying to find a low-cost fullback after choosing not to re-sign veterans Derrick Coleman and Will Tukuafu. They’ve tried converting tight ends and defensive linemen (including Archbishop Murphy High School graduate Taniela Tupou), they’ve picked up a player who hadn’t played in three years (Jonathan Amosa), yet no one seems to have grabbed the job.

Indeed, it’ll be interesting to see whether the Seahawks decide to carry a fullback on their roster. Would Seattle prefer to keep a dedicated fullback who hasn’t distinguished himself, or would the Seahawks rather have someone who’s excelled like tight end Brandon Williams, who could theoretically line up in the backfield?

For the record, Tupou continues to play as a defensive lineman and still is wearing a cast on his right hand.