It is the preseason, when training camp battles rage across the league, and fan debates about who should and should not make the roster of their favorite team rage even harder.
It’s no different for the Seattle Seahawks, who appear set to enter the 2025 season with third-year, 24-year old Anthony Bradford at right guard. This comes in spite of the fact that John Schneider has used five draft picks in the past two seasons on linemen the team lists as guards, including:
- G Grey Zabel (2025 1.18)
- G Bryce Cabeldue (2025 6.192)
- G Christian Haynes (2024 3.81)
- G Sataoa Laumea (2024 6.179)
- T/G Mason Richman (2025 7.234)
Should the current presumptions that Bradford will be the 2025 starter prove to be true, then it would be the third time in three seasons that the offensive coaching staff of the Seahawks has tabbed Bradford as the primary starter at the position, in spite of declarations from fans that Seattle needs someone, anyone, other than Bradford to be at right guard or the team is doomed.
Thus, to analyze how devastating it would be for the team to trot Bradford out as the starter, today’s task is to analyze the games the Seahawks have lost when Bradford has started to see exactly how many games he has cost the franchise. With that plan laid out, here’s a chronological review of the nine games Seattle has lost when Bradford started at right guard, so without wasting further time, it’s straight to the analysis.
Loss 1: 2023 Week 6: Seahawks 13, Cincinnati Bengals 17
Here’s Bradford in his second career start allowing B.J. Hill to get to Geno Smith and force an incompletion on fourth down. That it was the Seahawks second possession in the red zone in the final minutes of the game that ended without points, and that both Charles Cross and Jake Curhan allowed sacks during those drives is irrelevant. Bradford couldn’t block Hill and that alone cost the Seahawks the game.
Blame: 100% Bradford
Loss tracker: 1 of 1
Loss 2: 2023 Week 13: Seahawks 35, Dallas Cowboys 41
This is the unforgettable Thursday Night Football game the Seahawks lost when Shane Waldron called a pass to DeeJay Dallas on 4th & 2 that left Micah Parsons unblocked. Demarcus Lawrence famously threw things off completely by moving Abe Lucas back and blocking Dallas’ route out of the backfield, leading to a turnover on downs and the end of the game.
Parsons and Lawrence came from the offensive right side, and Bradford makes up half of the right side of the offensive line, and half rounds up to one, so Bradford takes full blame for this loss.
Blame: 100% Bradford
Loss tracker: 2 of 2
Loss 3: 2023 Week 14: Seahawks 16, San Francisco 49ers 28
Seattle held a 10-7 lead early, but could not hold on. Drew Lock, starting in place of injured Geno Smith, was under pressure all day. That obviously led to him making poor decisions, like this forced throw under extreme pressure into triple coverage as the Niners pass rush was closing in.
Bradford and Lucas combined to allow 10 of the 17 pressures the Seattle offensive line allowed in the game, with each allowing five. Since they were tied with an equal number of pressures allowed, they are each at fifty percent, and, just as above, since half rounds up to one, Bradford takes the blame for the loss.
Blame: 100% Bradford
Loss tracker: 3 of 3
Loss 4: Seahawks 23, Pittsburgh Steelers 30
The Seahawks fell to Steelers as Mason Rudolph had himself a day, completing 18 of 24 pass attempts for 274 yards, while Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combined to carry the ball 40 times for 197 yards.
The finger of blame for this atrocious performance and the inability of the Seattle defense to stop the Pittsburgh offense can be pointed nowhere but at Anthony Bradford.
Iron sharped iron, but because Bradford was an inexperienced rookie, his lackluster performances in practice during the 2023 season did nothing to prepare the “defense” of Pete Carroll and Clint Hurtt to slow down, much less stop, the offensive juggernaut that was the 2023 Steelers. Pittsburgh finished 28th in the NFL in scoring in 2023 at 17.9 points per game, numbers that were inflated by the inability of Anthony Bradford to properly prepare his teammates.
Blame: 100% Bradford
Loss tracker: 4 of 4
Loss 5: 2024 Week 4: Seahawks 29, Detroit Lions 42
Geno Smith was pressured on 26 of his 62 dropbacks against the Lions, an astounding 41.9% pressure rate.
Bradford only allowed one of those 26 pressures, with the other 25 allowed by Christian Haynes (1), Connor Williams (1), Laken Tomlinson (2), Charles Cross (10) and Stone Forsythe (12).
But, the offensive line is a unit, and as such they share in success as a unit, just as they share in taking blame for underperforming as a unit.
Blame: 100% Bradford
Loss tracker: 5 of 5
Loss 6: 2024 Week 5: Seahawks 20, New York Giants 29
Trailing by three points with 55 seconds to go in the game, the Seahawks lined up for a potential game-tying field goal.
Isaiah Simmons, of course, jumped the line of scrimmage to block the attempt, with Bryce Ford-Wheaton then scooping up the ball and going the other way for a game-clinching touchdown.
Looking closely at the pre-snap alignment, Anthony Bradford is to long snapper Chris Stoll’s left.
So, what exactly does Bradford do with the game on the line? Does he give Stoll a heads up that Simmons is planning to jump the line and block the kick? Does he advise Laken Tomlinson not to cut block the defender across from him? Nope. Nothing. He just blocks the guy across from him and leaves his teammates to fend for themselves.
Blame: 100% Bradford
Loss tracker: 6 of 6
Loss 7: 2024 Week 6: Seahawks 24, San Francisco 49ers 36
San Francisco jumped out to a 16-0 lead, with Seattle unable to put any points on the board until a Jason Myers field goal made it 16-3 at the half. The 49ers then started the second half with a touchdown, pushing the lead to 23-3 before Bradford decided that maybe blocking guys on the other team would be a good idea, allowing Seattle to score 21 second half points.
If Bradford (7 pressures allowed) and Stone Forsythe (10 pressures allowed) had decided to block somebody during the first half, the Seahawks come away from this game victorious. Alas, since they opted not to do so, Seattle once again fell to their division rival and it was all Bradford’s fault.
Blame: 100% Bradford
Loss tracker: 7 of 7
Loss 8: 2024 Week 8: Seahawks 10, Buffalo Bills 31
The Seattle offense was putrid in the first of two games without DK Metcalf, while the defense was marched up and down the field to the tune of 445 yards at an average of 6.5 yards per play. And how did Bradford respond to the defense getting roasted? By sitting on the sideline.
I can already feel the comments coming that Bradford isn’t a member of the defense. Well, he’s a member of the Seahawks, and instead of stepping in to help his struggling teammates out while the defensive front was getting repeatly gashed in the run game, Bradford was on the sideline chilling. Rather than set foot on the field and break a sweat by using his 6’4” height and 33.5” arms to help cover Bills receiving targets, Bradford just hung out watching his teammates get obliterated.
“Oh, but he’s never played defense in the NFL,” some are protesting. Well, maybe he should have at least tried. It certainly looked like some of his teammates had never played defense in the NFL.
“Oh, but he doesn’t have the agility to cover receivers in the NFL,” others toss out there.
Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images
Please. It’s been almost a decade since actually covering a receiver was a requirement to be a member of the Seattle secondary.
Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
If Bradford had wanted it bad enough, he would have made the coaching staff put him in the game. He didn’t, though, and opted to just hang out on the sideline and do nothing instead of try to right the ship and help the defense do anything to stop the Buffalo offense.
When someone doesn’t even try to help, that’s where the blame falls.
Blame: 100% Bradford
Loss tracker: 8 of 8
Loss 9: 2024 Week 9, Seahawks 20, Los Angeles Rams 26
Seattle had 1st & 10 at the Rams 25 yard line with 8:44 to go in the game. All they needed to do was gain 25 yards, put the ball in the end zone and they’d come away victorious. The plays former Seahawks offensive ineptinator coordinator Ryan Grubb called were:
- 1st & 10: Kenneth Walker to left guard (4 yard gain)
- 2nd & 6: Kenneth Walker to left guard (5 yard gain)
- 3rd & 1: Kenneth Walker to left guard (no gain)
- 4th & 1: Kenneth Walker left tackle (no gain)
That is, of course, a turnover on downs, and the blame for that turnover on downs taking place falls squarely on the fact that Bradford is so bad at his job that Grubb had no choice but to call all four plays to the left side. If Bradford were better at his job, Grubb wouldn’t have been forced to utilize only half the field, and the Seahawks not only pick up a first down, they then proceed to make their way into the end zone for a touchdown and the win.
Blame: 100% Bradford
Loss tracker: 9 of 9
There it is. Laid out in easy to understand terms. Of the nine times the Seahawks have lost over the past two seasons when Anthony Bradford has started at right guard, all nine of the losses have been a direct result of the actions of Bradford and absolutely nothing and no one else.
Simply put, if the new Seattle offensive coaching staff is dumb enough to have made the same decision as the former offensive staff and the offensive coaching staff that preceded the former offensive coaching staff by letting Bradford start at right guard, then the season is a lost cause. Fans might as well pack it in now, sell their tickets to Rams and 49ers fans and enjoy Sunday afternoons with their families because with Bradford on the field, 0-17 is more likely than making the postseason.