RENTON -- New Seahawks defensive end Dwight Freeney seemed excited on Wednesday to be joining a defense he's admired for years.
"I've always wanted to play here in a sense," Freeney said on his first day with the team. "Once I left Indianapolis I was like 'man, it would be special to play in Seattle.' And one of the reasons being just the mentality on defense. ... I think it's a little something different on defense in this city and how the 12th Man really rises up and gets behind their (defense) so I'm just happy to be a part of it."
Freeney signed with the Seahawks on Tuesday night after spending the first seven weeks of the season watching games on TV as a free agent. Freeney said he was getting tired of playing golf and going through the same workout routines continually while waiting for a team to call. Eventually the Seahawks reached out following Cliff Avril's injury last month and began a dialogue about Freeney's possible addition to the roster.
"Unfortunately, Cliff went down and it opened up a spot for me," Freeney said. "You never want to see a guy go down and we're all kind of brothers in this league and I've actually known Cliff for quite a while so that kind of bothered me to see him (go down). I always wanted to play with him. That being said, I'm happy to be here and just trying to go out and do what I do and try to help this team however I can."
The Seahawks see Freeney as a rotational piece to their pass rush unit. He's expected to play 10-15 snaps a game, ideally, and help take some of the load off Michael Bennett, who is nursing a plantar fascia injury to his right foot.
"We're going to mix him in and see how he does," Carroll said. "He's ready to go. He wants to go and he's been working real hard. He's in good shape. The workout showed that yesterday. He's got to make it through the week and all that but we're expecting him to play so you'll see him some."
"This is an extraordinarily savvy guy. He's so smart and so well schooled and got tremendous discipline about his part of the game, rushing the passer, that it's just going to help guys being around him. He's very aggressive. He was very active last year, made a lot of things happen. The film looked great and he's been sitting out kind of waiting for an opportunity and he was kind of anxious to get back to playing and so it was a chance and it worked out so we're thrilled to have him."
Freeney said he spoke with his former teammate, Raheem Brock, about what to expect from his new team. Brock spent two seasons playing for Carroll with the Seahawks in 2009-10 and eight seasons alongside Freeney in Indianapolis.
"He told me 'you're going to love it,'" Freeney said. "He used to brag about it too. When I was in Indy, he was like 'oh man, you really need to come to Seattle.' I'm like 'Seattle?' It's so different because it's so far away from what we know. ... So now I'm here and I already feel how special a place this is. It reminds me a lot of New England how the foliage and the leaves and the weather, the people. I'm excited man."
Freeney will also have to share some of his knowledge with the rest of the group as well. Freeney is particularly well known for his devastating spin move that helped him to amass 122.5 career sacks over 15 seasons with the Colts, San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons.
"I remember watching them break down his spin move, and I was just so excited,’’ defensive end Frank Clark said. "I was like 'man if I can learn that spin move one day, maybe I can be like him. Maybe I can be great.' Ever since that day I’ve been trying to do a spin move and I still haven’t gotten it like him.
"I'm gonna make him teach me now. He ain't got no choice. He on my team. I let him have the right side too, outta respect. I told him go ahead and rush on the right. He told me he had a million snaps on the right side and probably 10 on the left. I was like 'aw man.' Trying to have fun out there that’s all. Looking forward to it."
Dion Jordan hits practice field for first time:
Defensive end Dion Jordan was on the practice field for the first time with the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday.
Jordan was designated to practice off the non-football injury list for the team's walkthrough on Wednesday morning. He was on the practice field for the first time since signing with the team in April later in the afternoon. Jordan required a pair of minor knee operations to address old injuries after joining the team. It led to his being placed on NFI to begin the year.
"It's been a long haul for him to get back out," Carroll said. "He has worked really hard. His mind has been at it for a long time. He's been in the meetings. He has studied. He's ready to go so today was the first chance we had."
Jordan hasn't played in an NFL game since the 2014 season with the Miami Dolphins. The former No. 3 overall selection has been sidelined ever since due to injuries and suspensions that led to the end of his tenure with the Dolphins.
With Cliff Avril expected to be out until at least mid-December, Jordan could give Seattle another intriguing pass rush option in a few weeks if he's able to be activated off the non-football injury list. He will need to be placed on the active roster by Nov. 15 in order to play this season.
"Now it's just (time) to get his hand in the ground, come off the ball, and run into some people. He's been running into strength and conditioning coaches with pads and stuff. So it's just a process and we will see how it goes," Carroll said.
Notes:
-- Center Justin Britt isn't expected to practice until later this week due to a sprained ankle sustained against the New York Giants last Sunday. Offensive line coach Tom Cable said it looks like Britt will be available to play but added "we'll know as we get closer."
-- Defensive tackle Malik McDowell continues to work through conditioning drills as he works to get back in football shape following an ATV accident in July that left him with a severe concussion and other injuries.
"He’s doing some laps and some things," Carroll said. "He’s getting some running in and he feels fine. He feels fine with it. There’s more things that will come in terms of evaluations to know how far and how fast we can go. He’s really encouraged and that doesn’t mean anything in the immediate like next couple weeks or anything like that but I’m really happy for him. He feels like he’s getting back to ball. He’s coming to meetings and he’s starting going again so we will see what happens."
Injury Report:
Photo Credit: RENTON, Wash. -- Defensive end Dwight Freeney takes part in his first practice with the Seahawks after signing with the team on Tues. Oct. 24. (photo by Rod Mar/Seattle Seahawks)