Seahawks docked 5th-round pick, week of OTAs for excessive contact in offseason practices

The Seattle Seahawks violated rules that prohibit excessive contact in offseason workouts and will lose practice time and a draft pick as punishment, the NFL announced on Monday.

“During the team’s June 6, 2016 Organized Team Activity (OTA) day, players engaged in excessive on-field physical contact, which is expressly prohibited in all offseason workouts under the NFL-NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement,” the league announced in a press release. “The prohibition is one of several measures the NFL and NFLPA implemented to enhance player safety by limiting contact during offseason workout programs. The rules also help to prevent any team from gaining a competitive advantage.”

Pete Carroll and the Seahawks are well aware of the strict guidelines of OTA practices as the team was punished for the same violation in 2014.

The NFL announced Seattle will be docked a fifth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and the team won’t be able to use the first week of OTAs in 2017. In addition, the Seahawks received a $400,000 fine and Carroll received a $200,000 fine.

That’s a much harsher penalty for the Seahawks than the $300,000 fine the team received for the same violation in 2014. Seattle was already without a fourth-round pick in 2017 after trading it to the New England Patriots during the 2016 NFL Draft.