Seahawks stock report: Sam Howell, Laviska Shenault rising; Dee Eskridge falling

The Seattle Seahawks suffered their first loss of the Mike Macdonald era, falling 16-15 to the Tennessee Titans in the second preseason game for both teams Saturday night at Nissan Stadium.

Individual performances are more important than the result of the game, though. Macdonald and Titans head coach Brian Callahan rested many of their starters so that their backups could fight for jobs. For some of Seattle’s reserves, Saturday’s game was very positive because they boosted their stock with strong performances. For others, their lack of playmaking might have hurt their chances of making the 53-man roster. Let’s take stock of the roster now that Seattle’s second exhibition is in the books.Howell completed 11 of 14 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown of 23 yards to receiver Easop Winston Jr. in the first quarter. He was sacked twice and fumbled once, though the ball was recovered by Seattle. One of Howell’s passes was dropped by tight end Brady Russell on a play that would have gained 15 yards.

Howell had four explosive passes (16 or more yards) against the Titans: The 23-yard go ball to Winston, a 17-yard completion in the flat to rookie tight end AJ Barner on third-and-2, a 33-yard strike down the seam to receiver Cody White and a short pass to receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. for 18 yards to beat a blitz. Seattle’s backup quarterback had only two passes that didn’t reach his receiver’s hands: A deep shot to receiver Jake Bobo to kick off the final drive of the first half and a crossing route that sailed way over Bobo’s head on the first series. Howell scrambled twice for 11 yards.

Howell’s completions to White and Winston were his best throws of the preseason, and his ability to find answers against Tennessee’s blitzes showed a greater level of comfort in Ryan Grubb’s offense. P.J. Walker hadn’t done much to threaten Howell’s status as Geno Smith’s backup, but Howell’s growth from one game to the next is encouraging.Shenault caught all three of his targets for 27 yards, and two of those receptions produced first downs. He also made a couple of defenders miss on a jet sweep for 5 yards. He didn’t return a kickoff this week, but he did lay a lead block for cornerback Dee Williams to pick up 41 yards on the opening return of the game. Shenault is doing everything he can to make the roster, and his playmaking should put him in the WR5 spot heading into the final week of the preseason.The Seahawks want the game to slow down for Hall in his second season the way it did for Boye Mafe in 2023. Hall had a sack and four solo tackles against the Chargers last week and was again effective against the Titans. The 37th pick in the 2023 draft had three solo tackles, four quarterback pressures and a first-quarter sack in which he powered through backup tackle Jaelyn Duncan on his way to quarterback Malik Willis on third-and-12.