Pete Carroll’s Return & Other Things To Watch In The Seahawks’ Preseason Opener vs. The Raiders

Once Thursday’s game gets started, it will most likely look and feel like any other preseason contest. But before the ball is kicked off, there are sure to be plenty of on-field reunions between Carroll and his former players and other staff members, and between Smith and his former teammates. Seahawks fans will no doubt offer up a warm welcome to the coach who led the team to it’s first Super Bowl title, as well as for Smith, a two-time Pro-Bowler and the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year. And even though Carroll and Smith are coming to Seattle as opponents, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald fully expects and welcomes the idea of his predecessor and his former quarterback getting a nice ovation from the 12s.

“We should be cheering Pete when he gets here, we should be cheering Geno, how can we not?” Macdonald said. “We should be cheering those guys. Now when the ball’s snapped, we’re going to try to go win the game. We’re not going to be playing our starters, but we’re going to go compete like heck, I think Pete would appreciate that. I hope Pete gets a great ovation, he deserves it.”

For his part, Carroll is trying to downplay the moment, at least heading into the contest.

“It’s the only game we got; it happens to be in Seattle,” Carroll told reporters in Las Vegas this week. “I loved my time in Seattle, and love the fans and people that we met and dealt with and competed with, but it’s a game for us, we’re going to go play ball.”

Said Smith, “Really looking forward to it. Looking forward to seeing my old teammates, old coaches, people in the building. It’ll be fun. And also, going back with Pete, that’s pretty cool, and then it’s another opportunity to compete with my guys. That’s always what it’s all about.

Asked what his time in Seattle meant to him, Smith told reporters, “Man, it means everything. It means a lot to me. It’s the place I called home for six years, I had a son there. I was able to really turn my career around. I met some really cool people, got to know a lot of great people there, a lot of great teammates over the years. Just really special things, special thoughts that come to my mind when I think about it.”