Conclusions from the Seattle Seahawks’ second joint practice against the Tennessee Titans

However, Haynes has been gaining momentum over the past week and change, including an impressive NFL debut in Saturday’s preseason win over the Chargers, where he allowed one pressure in 20 pass-blocking reps and excelled in the running game. Feeling he’s earned the chance to show what he can do, the Seahawks inserted him into the starting lineup for Thursday’s practice with Bradford relegated to the two, though Macdonald attempted to downplay the change.

“As I’ve always said from the beginning, it’s a competition,” Macdonald said bluntly. “I wanted to see what Christian could do with them.”

Continuing his recent rise, Haynes dominated one-on-one duels on Thursday, pushing his defender to the ground on both reps. According to Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune, he followed up by pushing Tennessee defensive tackle Quinton Bohanna in the back when he was already on the ground, leading to a post-play argument between the two players. Thankfully, it didn’t escalate into a fight.

While it may feel like it’s already too late for a competition to be present, Haynes has always been in the rearview mirror closing in on Bradford, and Seattle clearly wants to see what he brings to the table in the coming weeks. Both players are expected to see plenty of action in Saturday’s preseason game with the opportunity to improve their position as they search for the right guard spot for Week 1.

Metcalf and Woollen, two of the NFL’s best athletes and former Pro Bowlers at their respective positions, are expected to perform well in joint practices against other teams. Still, Tennessee should be breathing a sigh of relief that it won’t have to deal with either of them after the two stars dominated during the two joint practices.

Metcalf picked up where he left off on Wednesday, even though the Titans were without their top two cornerbacks, and he proved to be a nearly unstoppable force during the one-on-one period, putting defenders in a dizzying cycle as they tried to deal with his elite size and speed. Once the team’s practice session began, he wasted no time in torching the opposition, as quarterback Geno Smith connected with him on a deep pass on the first play.

As for Woolen, he continued to hold his own against Titans standout receiver Calvin Ridley, creating a pass breakup during 1-on-1s before recording an interception against Will Levis during the 7-on-7 red zone period. Looking for his defense to cut down on mistakes compared to Wednesday, Macdonald was pleased with what he saw, particularly when it came to creating turnovers and forcing stops in red zone work with Woolen in the starring role.

“We had a good meeting yesterday; guys came out focused, so we felt like we addressed most of those issues. Again, I can’t say, but we’re making plays on the ball, which is really good. Guys seemed to be on top of things in the red zone, things move faster there, especially against a new offense, new schemes, things they haven’t seen. That was encouraging.”

While Woolen may have been the joint practice MVP, if there is such a thing, he wasn’t the only one making big plays in Seattle’s secondary over the past two days. After being outmatched a couple of times in one-on-one matchups on Wednesday, Witherspoon came out with a vengeance in Thursday’s session, sparking conversation and bringing his ball-chasing skills to the field.

Witherspoon, who was engaged in a fun, friendly conversation during practice with former teammates Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, who signed with the Titans after being released by the Seahawks in March, may have had the last word. After Adams told him to “get ready because San Francisco is going to have that ass,” the former top-five pick intercepted Levis while defending a wheel route and ran down the sideline to give the ball to Adams, waving at him on the Titans’ sideline as he continued to run to celebrate in the end zone.

“Well, that’s Spoon,” Macdonald laughed. “I know we joke around a lot, but we love him. He’s a great player and we expect great things from him. Him making plays on the ball like he did today is what our team needs (and we’re happy for him). He’s working really hard, he’s very detail-oriented, he doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He’s doing a great job. I’m happy for him for his production on the ball, and that helps our team as well, which is good.”

“Jamal, that’s my boy, that’s my dog, so we can talk trash to each other and it’s nothing but love. That’s why he and I do that all the time,” Witherspoon added.

As all three players acknowledged after practice, the exchange of boos between Witherspoon, Adams and Diggs was friendly in nature, as they were simply having a good time competing with each other in a reunion of sorts. Beyond the trash talk, Seattle’s rising star continued to make his mark as one of the emerging leaders of Macdonald’s defense, another sign that he could be headed for a breakout second year.

If there’s one goal that both teams share in a joint practice, it’s to avoid any major injuries. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, though, they’ll be returning to the Pacific Northwest this weekend with the status of veteran tight end Pharaoh Brown in question.

After taking a hit from cornerback Roger McCreary, Brown grabbed his knee while on the ground and eventually left the field in a golf cart. Interestingly, Macdonald told reporters that the tight end had a foot injury after practice, but offered no further details at the time.

“That’s all we know at this point,” Macdonald said.

Depending on the severity of Brown’s injury, the Seahawks could have to make a tough decision as to whether or not to place him on injured reserve before the upcoming cutoff day of Aug. 27. If he misses an extended period of time, fourth-round pick AJ Barner should be the beneficiary with more snaps as a traditional tight end, while Brady Russell would also benefit from his absence.

In other injury news, running back Zach Charbonnet (back) and defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones (hamstring) did not practice Thursday. Macdonald doesn’t believe Charbonnet’s situation is “major,” while he had nothing to update on Jones after he exited Wednesday’s practice, making them day-to-day at this stage for Seattle.