Houshmandzadeh Inching toward his comeback

Published on June 16, 2010 by     

Seattle Seahawks veteran wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh had a helmet with him on the field and worked through individual drills for the first time since receiving sports hernia surgery in April.

Both Houshmandzadeh and Deion Branch worked on agility drills on the hill near the practice field with team trainers and also ran routes after practice.

Running back Leon Washington also worked through agility drills after practice, and all three appear to be working their way toward getting on the field full time for the beginning of training camp at the end of July.

“This was an exciting day for us to see T.J. get back on the field, and Deion get back on the field and catch some balls,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said. “It’s been a long time that those guys have been out … and today at the end of practice it was good to see those guys get out in really good tempo run some routes, which means that they are really on the mend, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they could some work next week, but certainly they are going to be ready for camp.”

Today several receivers made plays on deep balls, to the chagrin of secondary coach Jerry Gray, who told his corners to play more aggressive at the line of scrimmage.

Mike Williams continued to shine, making an impressive play on a deep ball against Josh Wilson. However, Ben Obomanu, Deon Butler, Golden Tate and Kole Heckendorf also got behind the back end of the defense for long gains, as the offense seemed to be clicking on Tuesday.

Some tidbits

* New defensive lineman Will Tukuafu worked at 3-tech with the third unit, while the other new addition defensive end Barrett Moen worked at nose.

* Linebacker Lofa Tatupu, who is recovering from a torn pectoral muscle he suffered last season, sat out of today’s practice, along with cornerback Walter Thurmond (knee) and free agent pickup Josh Pinkard (unspecified).

* Free agent pickup Justin Rose from Ohio State reported to OTAs for the first time, now that school’s graduation class has finished up. At 6-foot-4, 291 pounds Rose looks like a typical Ohio State product – a big, strong guy who can run. Rose is working at 5-tech.

* Wide receiver Reggie Williams is starting to make his presence known during workouts. He had a couple, nice catches over the middle of the defense and said he’s getting more comfortable in Seattle’s offensive scheme.

* Julius Jones struggled to hold onto the ball during 9-on-7 inside running drills, twice putting the ball on the ground.

Read more: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks/2010/06/15/houshmandzadeh-inching-toward-full-go/#ixzz0r1uTXyMQ

Tags: Agility Drills, Coach Jerry, coach pete carroll, Defensive Lineman, Deion Branch, Deon Butler, Exciting Day, Jerry Gray, Josh Pinkard, Josh Wilson, Leon Washington, Line Of Scrimmage, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, Secondary Coach, Sports Hernia Surgery, T J Houshmandzadeh, Tatupu, Team Trainers, Thurmond, Torn Pectoral Muscle