Getty The Seahawks will be without center Kyle Fuller for the start of the season.
The Seattle Seahawks will be without center Kyle Fuller for the first two games of the upcoming season. The team announced Fuller received a two-game suspension for “violating the NFL policy on substances of abuse.”
“Fuller is eligible to participate in all preseason practices,” the Seahawks’ statement detailed. “He will be allowed to return to the Seahawks’ active roster on Monday, Sept. 21, following the team’s Week 2 matchup vs. New England.”
During training camp, Fuller had been part of the competition for the Seahawks’ starting center position after Justin Britt and Joey Hunt were released this offseason. While not the favorite, Carroll previously mentioned Fuller as very much in the hunt for the starting gig.
“NFL suspends #Seahawks reserve OL Kyle Fuller two games for violating league policy on substances of abuse,” The News Tribune’s Gregg Bell tweeted. “Pete Carroll had mentioned Fuller, who was on the practice-squad last season, with Ethan Pocic, B.J. Finney as candidates for the job at center.”
Ethan Pocic & B.J. Finney Are the Favorites to Win the Starting Center Spot
Russell Wilson taking snaps from Ethan Pocic. Kyle Fuller snapping to Geno Smith. BJ Finney snapping to Gordon and Etling.
Over the offseason, former Steelers center B.J. Finney was signed in free agency and became the favorite to start after Britt was released. Ethan Pocic appears to have every opportunity to win the spot as well. According to The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta, Pocic was the first-team center in warmups prior to the team’s recent scrimmage. The media is not allowed to report specific depth chart alignments from the scrimmage, so we are admittedly reading between the lines on recent camp reports.
“Russell Wilson taking snaps from Ethan Pocic,” Condotta noted on Twitter. “Kyle Fuller snapping to Geno Smith. BJ Finney snapping to Gordon and Etling.”
Pete Carroll on Starting Center: ‘They’re Competing Like Crazy’
One thing that is consistent about a Seahawks training camp under Pete Carroll is competition at nearly every position. Outside of franchise players like Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, the majority of starting spots are up for grabs during every training camp. This year is no different, and Carroll noted that the centers are “competing like crazy.”
“It’s just a battle,” Carroll said, per Seahawks.com. “They’re competing like crazy… The competition will just keep going. We’ve had enough opportunities so far to see that B.J. can handle it, and Ethan Pocic can handle it, so it’s a good healthy competition… It’s a good comp, and we’ll call it before too long. No deadline is set yet.”
According to Seahawks.com, Pocic appears to have a “slight edge” over Pocic and Fuller so far in training camp. Carroll has not named a starter but admitted the team would “call it before too long.”
Fuller spent last season on the Seahawks practice squad and began his NFL career in 2017 as a seventh-round draft pick for the Texans, per Pro Football Talk. Fuller played in nine games with two starts during his stint with the Texans. The suspension news makes it highly unlikely that Fuller will win the starting job unless Pocic or Finney struggles early this season.
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