RENTON, Wash. — The absence of wide receiver D.K. Metcalf from Seahawks minicamp on Tuesday dominated the conversation from the outside world, but inside Seahawks headquarters, the focus was on the players who were in attendance.
Among the most notable of practice participants were safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs.
They were seen practicing during the walkthrough portion early, while both sat out during the back half of practice for individual position drills.
Adams and Diggs are each recovering from offseason surgeries, Adams from a torn labrum and Diggs from a broken fibula and dislocated ankle.
The two say their healing process is on schedule and they expect to be all systems go come training camp in late July.
"It was tough. I played with one arm damn near for two years," Adams said. "But that's no excuse. At the end of the day it was 'tape it up, let's go.'"
"I still have the cleats from that game in the locker room," Diggs said in regards to the game in which he suffered the injury. "It's just a remembrance of the grind I've been through the last five months."
Both safeties enter the season with clear chips on their shoulders. Both know they'll be asked to shoulder a lot on the back end of the defense, and both are eager to prove they can.
"For all the people out there worried about me not practicing because I'm hurt, you have to understand I've been in the league for eight years," Diggs said. "I've seen a lot of different things, played a lot of different coverages and in a lot of different schemes. I think it'll be fine."
"Sometimes you go through things in life that you really didn't want to go through, but at the end of the day it made me stronger mentally and physically. I'm just looking forward to the challenge," Adams said.
Adams also detailed an additional injury and procedure he underwent in the offseason, telling reporters he had two fingers on his left hand fused.
"My first year when I got here, dislocated my ring finger probably about 10 times and the other one, probably about 12," Adams declared. "So I’ve been dealing with that. I didn’t really say much. Let everybody talk about it, whatever. But you know, it’s good now and they’re in trouble.’’
Diggs is also hoping to create trouble coming off a second consecutive Pro Bowl campaign, but said he felt disrespected about not being named to the NFL All-Pro team.
Adams all but confirmed the spark that's been lit because of it.
The Seahawks continue summer minicamp Wednesday and Thursday.
They'll then have a month-plus break before training camp in late July.