Doug Baldwin, Cliff Avril, Jermaine Kearse, K.J. Wright visit Seahawks as Sherman consults

Doug Baldwin talked at length with Pete Carroll and John Schneider. He nodded at his former wide-receiver partner Tyler Lockett making catches.

He was attending practice for one of the few times since he stopped playing 3 1/2 years ago.

Cliff Avril shook hands with Poona Ford. He watched the defensive line drills closely. He hugged Clint Hurtt, his former D-line coach who is now Seattle’s defensive coordinator.

K.J. Wright smiled when he saw Baldwin along the sideline.

Jermaine Kearse, the former Seattle and University of Washington receiver from Lakewood, talked to Carroll on the field as practice ended.

In the same week Carroll is consulting with Richard Sherman about the Seahawks’ new, young defense, the team fittingly hosted a Legends Day at training camp Wednesday. It was a second such day since camp began July 27. It’s been a chance for coaches, old teammates and fans to see the stars of Seattle’s Super Bowl teams and era of the last decade.

Carroll has made a concerted effort to keep in regular touch with his former Seahawks. Those bonds stay tight while many of the recent former players, including all who came to the latest practice, have remained in Seattle after football.

Carroll says he is “proud as hell” of keeping those relationships.

“These guys are all planning on living around here, they already do, and they have a community building here that is based from the opportunities to play together,” the 70-year-old coach said.

“That makes me proud. That makes me proud as hell.

“They found home. They found life-long friendships, and they really cherish it. Obviously, they are making life changes and life decisions to stay here.

“I take a lot of pride in that. I love that they are around.”

Smith and Lock both good

They saw the best day yet for the two quarterbacks competing to succeed the legends’ QB, Russell Wilson.

One day after Geno Smith’s best practice of the two-week training camp, he was better. He was flawless in position drills and throwing in receivers’ one-on-one match-ups with defensive backs. At one point he completed 12 consecutive passes in position drills. Nothing out of Smith’s hand hit the ground.

At the end of the drill, Smith and DK Metcalf hugged.

Smith had a perfect pass to Tyler Lockett for a touchdown despite blanket coverage in the end zone from rookie cornerback Coby Bryant, who is currently starting while four more experienced cornerbacks are injured. The coverage was so good, general manager Schneider slapped Bryant’s hand on his way back from the play.

During red-zone, 11-on-11 scrimmaging, Smith — again with the starting offense for all but one series — threw behind Rashaad Penny on a swing pass on the first snap. That was his only off throw. He fired a dart low and just off the ground to Lockett, away from the coverage of cornerback Michael Jackson. It was where only Lockett could catch it, which he did at the goal line for a rolling touchdown.

On the next play Smith fired high and outside to the 6-foot-4 Metcalf, again to where only the guarded receiver could catch it. Metcalf made a leaping grab then deftly dragged the tops of his two feet inside the back line of the end zone for another score.

Lock answered with two perfectly lofted throws to Lockett for touchdowns. Lock throw each pass into the each back corner of the end zone on fade routes, also to where only Lockett could catch it. Those throws were indefensible.

Lock again scrimmaged behind the second offensive line for all but one series for the second consecutive day. It’s been that way since his impressive performance in the mock-game scrimmage out-playing Smith Saturday.

Smith has responded with his two best days of camp. So, yes, the competition is warming up, after a sputtering start.

Carroll has announced Smith, the 31-year-old backup to Wilson the last three seasons, will start Seattle’s first preseason game. That is Saturday at the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The best play Smith made Wednesday wasn’t for a touchdown. In 11-on-11 scrimmaging in the middle of the field he read a late-breaking blitz at the snap by safety Jamal Adams, again playing up in the defense’s new three-safety look with Quandre Diggs and Josh Jones back in coverage. Smith’s quick throw to tight end Will Dissly into the area Adams vacated down the middle by blitzing gained 25 yards.

That’s why the coaches trust Smith.

“He’s just doing things right,” Carroll said. “He handles the system. He’s making the checks at the line of scrimmage. He’s able to control the protections and working with (center) Austin (Blythe), those guys are hitting it really well.”

Lock, 25, has shown through two weeks of camp to be deft at throwing on the run. He wants to get outside pass rushers and the pocket to create more improvisational plays. He shows what Carroll termed “a gunslinger” mentality.

The question remains: How much risk, how much “gunslinging,” does Carroll want to endure in the sport’s most important position, the spot that will determine how many games Seattle wins this season post-Wilson?

Smith is the known. He has perhaps a lower ceiling than Lock, but at perceived lower risk.

Lock led the NFL in interceptions two years ago playing for Denver, though the Seahawks think they can coach him to maximize his talent and not his risks. He has shown a higher potential to pressure defenses and make the Seahawks’ harder to defend. But he carries that perceived higher risk.

Lock knows he has to corral his risk-taking with the ball. He knows that will determine if he wins this competition by the end of the third and final preseason game Aug. 26 at Dallas.

“Playing smart football. Biggest thing for me that I think people, including myself, have analyzed my play over the last couple years is turnovers, taking care of the football,” Lock said. “That was one thing in those last games that I got to start in Denver, that was a big piece. I wanted to be able to show that I can take care of the football and play really smart football and that’s a goal of mine this year.

“With all the weapons that we have, with Tyler, and DK, and Will, and Noah (Fant), and Colby (Parkinson), and our running backs, and our running game, and our offensive line, the only way we can hurt ourselves is if we turn the ball over.”

Rookie corners still starting

For the second consecutive day the starting cornerbacks were rookies Tariq Woolen on the right and Coby Bryant on the left.

Artie Burns had been starting through camp’s first 10 practices, until he strained his groin Tuesday. He did not practice Wednesday.

Tre Brown remains on the physically-unable-to-perform list after knee surgery ended his rookie season in November. Sidney Jones remains out indefinitely from a concussion he got taking on a block last week.

Brown and Jones started last season.

Woolen and Bryant are poised not only to start but play much of the first preseason game Saturday.

Rookie wide receiver Bo Melton said teammates have a nickname for Woolen, who is 6 feet 4 and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.26 seconds.

“Avatar.”

Big is sexy

New defensive end Shelby Harris, 6 foot 2 acquired with Lock and Fant from Denver in the Wilson trade, says his listed weight of 290 is incorrect.

“I’m 310, all sexiness up here.”

Extra points

*It was Jake Curhan’s day to be the starting right tackle, for the second straight day. That was after rookie third-round pick Abe Lucas started three days in a row there, and Stone Forsythe alternated with Curhan days starting last week.

*Wide receiver Dee Eskridge caught passes standing, not running, from Smith, Lock and Eason early in practice. He caught passes with Metcalf out of a JUGS machine a close range following practice.

Eskridge still hasn’t participated in a full practice since he injured his hamstring on camp’s first day, July 27.

*Melton had his best day yet. The rookie seventh-round draft choice from Rutgers caught a bullet over the middle from (distant) third quarterback Jacob Eason near the end of the no-pads practice.

The final play of practice was Melton leaping to catch Eason’s pass at the sideline. He landed directly and hard onto his back, but held onto the ball. He was wincing while on the ground after that catch, while teammates and coaches standing over him said, “Tough catch.”

“I was just in the air. I was like ’’Aw man, I’m going down!’” Melton said. “So, I felt that. No pads, too. Yeah, definitely went down, but everything is all right.”