RENTON — The Seattle Seahawks spun through over 500 roster transactions during the first two years of head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider’s tenure in Seattle.
But the roster churn has slowed somewhat over the past year, with Carroll settling in on a group of young players that he believes will be the foundation for a potential playoff run this season.
“It’s a very young football team,” Carroll said after his team’s win over Oakland last week gave the Seahawks a 4-0 record for the preseason. “But they bought in, and they’re really trying hard to factor in to our success.
“You can tell how much we’ve improved, depth-wise on the roster, compared to where we were the last couple of years just by the speed on the football field, and the guys playing so hard all the way throughout the four quarters.”
Currently, 37 of Seattle’s 53 players on the team’s roster were with the team last season.
Only six players on the roster remain from when Carroll took over the team three years ago.
And Seattle still has one of the youngest teams in the league, with only six players 30 years old or older. Cornerback Marcus Trufant is the oldest at 31 — he turns 32 on Christmas Day. Linebacker Leroy Hill turns 30 on Sept. 14.
The average on Seattle’s roster is 25.7.
Although he’s only 23 years old, third-year pro Earl Thomas is one of the veterans on Seattle’s roster, and believes his team has finally arrived.
“It’s crazy how many strides we’ve made since last season,” Thomas said. “Everything we’ve learned in the classroom, we’re taking it to the game. A lot of guys here love this game of football — you can tell that it means so much to them.
“We’re hungry and young, and we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”
The trick for Carroll will be translating that young and fiery attitude into wins on the field — tempering Seattle’s confident, aggressive approach to the game so that his team doesn’t make too many mistakes that cost them wins down the road.
“In every single phase of it they’re so much farther along,” Carroll said. “That’s why we expect our team to make a significant jump because of that. There are a whole bunch of guys that played for the first time that feel like they know the game so much better now going into their second year.
“They’re going to get better a year from now as well, but this is the biggest jump they’ll make. It’s something we’ll count on.”
Extra points
The Seahawks announced they signed seven players to the team’s practice squad on Sunday. This year’s fifth-round draft choice, linebacker Korey Toomer, was added to the roster, along with receiver Ricardo Lockette, quarterback Josh Portis, linebacker Allen Bradford, tight end Sean McGrath, safety DeShawn Shead and offensive lineman Rishaw Johnson. All seven players were part of Seattle’s 90-man roster at the start of the team’s training camp. Seattle still has one spot open on the practice squad. … The Seahawks practice at 2:30 p.m. today.
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