RENTON, WASHINGTON - JULY 25: AJ Barner #88 of the Seattle Seahawks runs with the ball during practice at Virginia Mason Athletic Center on July 25, 2026 in Renton, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesThe Seattle Seahawks returned to the practice field after taking Wednesday off. Thursday marked the first padded practice of training camp, which means the intensity can ramp up and the feel of real football is getting closer. Fans wont get a glimpse of padded reps until Friday, so media-only accounts will have to suffice for today.Lets go through the notable events from Day 5 of Seahawks training camp!Seahawks training camp news and notesDeven Eastern returns to practiceSeahawks rookie nose tackle Deven Eastern had been largely absent from mandatory minicamp and OTAs due to injury, and started this year on the PUP list. He passed a physical on Thursday and is all good to go, which means just Nick Emmanwori and Zach Charbonnet are still on PUP.Rookie Deven Eastern has been activated from PUP list. #Seahawkspic.twitter.com/K7i9J7yeBi Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) July 30, 2026Mike Macdonald: Tyrice Knight having a great training campAfter taking over as a midseason starter as a rookie, Tyrice Knights injury issues in 2025 led to some early season struggles before Drake Thomas took over his starting job. The third-year player out of UTEP has started camp well enough for Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald to sing his praises.Tyrice has had a great camp. He really has. Hes done a great job. Theres ways to get him out there. Thats a great example of how you dont need to be counting the people ahead of you and where do I stand in depth chart and all this. Just put my best foot forward and let us figure out how to get you on the field. Put that burden on the coaches to make sure that we got the best guys out there. Hes definitely applying pressure right now, which is really great.Mike Macdonald addresses currently injured Seahawks playersThe likes of Jake Bobo and Julian Neal have been absent from recent practices due to injury. It doesnt sounds like Mike Macdonald is too concerned about any of the injuries.Nothing long term. Just a couple of things theyre working through, camp type of stuff. Its a bummer, but we will get them back soon.Brandon Pili, Jamie Sheriff, and Jared Ivey were new non-participants on Thursday, and similarly there doesnt seem to be reason to sound the alarm bells.Well, theyre dealing with some things. Some training camp things, but theyll be back. Nothing crazy going on right now, just some training camp stuff.Nick Emmanwori attends practice from the sidelinesSeattles star defensive back is on the mend after ankle surgery, which is why hes on PUP. While its been reported that it wont likely be a long-term absence for Emmanwori, Coach Macdonald is playing it close to the vest as far as a timetable for his return.Hes in an adverse situation. Hes attacking it. Thats all you can ask him to do. Hes made a lot of progress, which is exciting. Its one of these things where you dont want to put a timetable on it because you dont want to limit him but just go rip it every day. We got great people surrounded by him and lets go see where we get. Hes returned so far. Hes done a great job. Its not going to be easy, but hes just the man for the job.Andre Fuller, Michael Dansby level up in padsWhile Julian Neal did not practice, Seattles other two rookie corners did participate. Dansby has raised eyebrows with his ball skills and general performances in 1-on-1s and in team reps. Heres what Coach Macdonald had to say about their first practice in pads.To see them make plays, playing football, its great. Its an indication of the work they have put in. Theyve done a great job up to this point. Theyre rookies, so they are swimming a little bit schematically, but thats as expected, and they just got to kind of work through the fog until we start making plays, like today, and gain more confidence and just keep rolling.Sam Darnold on having running backs more involved as receiversFor the first time during camp, Sam Darnold had a media availability session. The Seahawks second-year starting quarterback was asked about his stable of running backs and the benefits of having them as legitimate receiving threats.I think it helps the quarterback a ton because it does present a different problem for the defense. Sometimes the defense assumes, especially on third down, that the running backs going to stay in and protect so they can build their pressures off of that. But when youre getting five guys out on a route and youre in scat protection, sometimes youve got to throw hot, and the defense is going to make it hot. If you get the protections right, youre not hot, and the running backs out on a route, sometimes thats a mismatch with a linebacker, especially with a guy like [Jadarian Price] or George [Holani]. Weve got a ton of backs in the backfield this year that can make linebackers and safeties miss. So, its going to be really fun to see what those guys can do coming out of the backfield.O-line vs. D-line gets more competitiveYou love to see the give-and-take. And you love to read about both of these things regarding Rylie Mills and Anthony Bradford especially Mills.1-on-1 pass-rush drills in full pads=the most real football in #Seahawks training camp.Byron Murphy bull-rushed into Christian Haynes' chest, blew him into the backfieldRylie Mills beat Anthony Bradford with an inside rip move. Bradford came back, stopped Mills' spin move Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) July 30, 2026George Holani shows off his pass protection chopsIts expected that third-year Seahawks running back George Holani will feature more in the offense. One of the reasons? His pass protection.One of the reasons John Schneider raved about George Holani after the Super Bowl was how he fared in pass protection during the playoffs. The GM called it elite.A good example in this blitz pickup drill during the Seahawks first padded practice of camp. Holani is first up. pic.twitter.com/W61PnZFJ0m Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) July 30, 2026George Holani going against Ernest Jones in pass pro 1-on-1s. #Seahawkspic.twitter.com/FJyt5pzYo7 Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) July 30, 2026Some familiar work for Robbie OuztsRobbie Ouzts was a tight end in college and a fullback in the NFL. With Brian Fleury as offensive coordinator, I would anticipate Ouzts having more of a role outside of being an I-formation fullback. Fullback Robbie Ouzts, whom the #Seahawks converted from tight end last year as a rookie, is getting back to his University of Alabama position at his second #Seahawks training camp. Ouzts getting right-end work on duo blocks with offensive tackles in position drills. pic.twitter.com/kl0yJ5UoAY Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) July 30, 2026As noted earlier, fans return to practice on Friday, July 31 at 1 pm PT. Reminder: Field Gulls live at Seahawks training camp!In just a few days Field Gulls will be on site as part of the Seahawks Syndicate crew, which features myself, Bryce Coutts, Dan Viens, and Brandon Cain (who wont be attending in-person this year). Well be at three practices on Aug. 5, 7, and 8, with live podcasts streaming from Fast Fashion Brewing in SoDo! Youre invited to a special Town Hall style show on Aug. 7 at 7:30 pm. Myself, Bryce, and Josh Hite are among the Field Gulls staff that will be at camp in some capacity during these days. Come hang with us at Fast Fashion and/or meet us at the berm on those two VMAC days.Its more fun when we can do our own reports instead of aggregating from others.