Recently acquired eight-time Pro Bowler Quenton Nelson will play left guard for the Seattle Seahawks and 2025 first-round pick Gray Zabel will move to right guard, head coach Mike Macdonald said during his press conference Thursday.
Where the Seahawks stand in the 7-week NFC playoff picture
That leaves Anthony Bradford — who has 40 career starts at right guard in his four seasons with Seattle — as the odd man out on the Seahawks’ starting offensive line.
An O-line shakeup was necessary after Seattle acquired Nelson, 30, from the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
Nelson, a three-time All-Pro and widely considered one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL, has started each of his 136 career games at left guard.
Zabel has started all 24 games at left guard since being drafted in 2025. However, he has shown unique versatility during his college career at North Dakota State, where he played all five positions on the offensive line. At NDSU, he started 18 games at left tackle, 17 games at right tackle, four at left guard and three at right guard, while also logging snaps at center, according to Pro Football Focus.
Bradford, a 2023 fourth-round pick, started every game at right guard during Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning campaign last season. After suffering a knee injury in the season opener last month, he missed five games before returning to right guard in the Seahawks’ win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
“I think our offensive line probably played its best game of the season last Sunday night, and I just want to be clear that (the addition of Nelson) is not a comment on any of our members or anything like that,” Macdonald said. “We love our guys. It’s a situation where you understand how it affects the guys who have worked really hard here and earned a big role on our team.
“But also, two things can be true at the same time. It’s an opportunity to bring in probably a sure-fire Hall of Fame guard with a great track record. And from our understanding of the type of person he is to join our locker room, it was just an opportunity that’s going to make the Seahawks better.”
Seattle Seahawks News and More
• What makes Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba so difficult to defend
• Brock: 3 things to like about the Seahawks’ trade for Quenton Nelson
• Seattle Seahawks’ Emmanwori showcases unicorn skills
Gn sports
