Seahawks’ Bradley Sowell makes most of opportunity

The Seahawks’ roster is filled with players whose stories of overcoming the odds will live in franchise lore.

Russell Wilson, the too-short quarterback who rose to the top. Doug Baldwin, the undrafted receiver who last year did things previously accomplished only by Hall of Famers.

Bradley Sowell’s lasting imprint on the Seahawks is to be determined.

But the route he took to reach his current standing with the team – starting left tackle, generally considered as vital as any offensive-line position – features its share of twists and turns.

It’s a story Sowell shared last week with an unsuspecting and highly appreciative audience – the middle- and high-school football teams at Viewpoint School in Calabasas, California, about 45 minutes north of Los Angeles.

A friend of Sowell’s has a son on the middle-school team, and Sowell – visiting during Seattle’s bye week – decided to accompany him to a practice.

“I honestly didn’t know until about five minutes before practice, he was going to be there,” Viewpoint coach Christopher Adamson said. “It was a pretty spontaneous thing.”

Sowell then spent almost three hours with the two teams (the K-12 school has about 250 students in its middle school and about 550 in high school), showing the linemen how to get down in a stance, explaining the concept of zone blocking and whatever else came to mind.

But Adamson said the highlight was a speech Sowell delivered to both teams.

“He just kind of told his story of being an undrafted free agent, being an underdog and how he fought through the odds and through adversity and kept working and kept believing, and now he is the starting left tackle for one of the best teams in the NFL after fighting through all that,” Adamson said. “The message definitely resonated with our kids.”

The story Sowell told began with his upbringing in Hernando, Mississippi, (population 14,090) as one of five boys in a household he said “lived paycheck to paycheck. I was happy then. It wasn’t a big deal. But we didn’t have a whole lot growing up, so we had to fight for everything we had.”

The Sowell boys were big, though, and Bradley was listed at 6-foot-7 and 350 pounds as a junior in high school. He received some college attention, but he was considered a two-star recruit by Scout.com and committed to the first major school that gave him an offer – Mississippi, located about an hour away.

In a scene recounted in the book “Meat Market,” then-Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron made the offer in part after watching film of Sowell in a spring practice blocking drill. (Orgeron marveled at Sowell’s size, but the book, published in 2007, referred to Sowell as “a long-range project.”)

After becoming a three-year starter at Ole Miss, Sowell went undrafted in 2012 and was released by his first NFL team – Tampa Bay. Released a year later by the Colts after playing as a reserve, he landed a starting job at left tackle with Arizona in 2013, only to lose it the next year when the Cardinals signed free agent Jared Veldheer. Sowell barely played his last two seasons with Arizona.

That led Sowell to take a leap as a free agent in March and sign with the Seahawks for the chance to compete for the left tackle job that opened when Russell Okung signed with Denver.

Not that most observers figured he’d get the job. Sowell’s one-year, $1 million contract included just $200,000 guaranteed, and little guarantee of anything else.

But when J’Marcus Webb got hurt and Garry Gilliam proved rusty after missing much of the offseason due to surgery to remove a cyst on his knee, Sowell became the starter at left tackle early in training camp and has held the job through the first four games.

“Bradley Sowell has come through,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said last week. “We didn’t know at the time. We didn’t know that was going to work out. He’s been coming through and is doing all right.”

Sowell already has learned tough lessons about life in the here-today, gone-tomorrow NFL, so he knows all that matters is what happens next.

But the chance to talk to some young players who hold the same dream he did not so long ago also gave Sowell a moment to reflect.

“You don’t realize how complex our level is until you go (and do something like that),” he said. “They play football at that level at the purest form – it’s literally like so simple. And they are doing it for fun and because they love to play the game.”

49ers turn to Kaepernick

The San Francisco 49ers are putting their future back into Colin Kaepernick’s hands.

Coach Chip Kelly announced the decision to bench Blaine Gabbert and to give back the starting job that Kaepernick lost midway through last season. Kaepernick has only played briefly in the opener but has generated attention with his refusal to stand for the national anthem as a form of protest.

“We were very analytical and sat down as a staff and watched tape and went over everything,” said Kelly. “We’ve had a couple days to digest everything where we are. I think offensively, we just need to be better and we just need to make a move.”

Gabbert has struggled this season for San Francisco (1-4). He is last in the NFL in yards per attempt (5.9) and has the second-worst passer rating (69.6) in the league.

“It’s not Blaine’s fault,” said Kelly. “I think as a group, offensively we need to be better in a lot of ways. So we’re going to see what we can do and make a move here. It’s really one of the only maneuvers we can make based on our depth.”

Kelly said Kaepernick’s ongoing protest had no bearing on his decision.

After leading the Niners to the Super Bowl following the 2012 season and the NFC title game the following year, Kaepernick has struggled. He lost his job to Gabbert midway through last season and then had three operations that limited his work in the offseason.

“I’m ready to play,” Kaepernick said. “It’s been about a year since live-game action. So I’m itching to get back out there.”

Vikings grab top spot

Mike Zimmer’s Minnesota Vikings are the last unbeaten team left in the NFL.

Despite dealing with several significant injuries, the Vikings are 5-0 entering their bye week.

That perfect mark helped them move up one spot to the top of the latest AP Pro32 poll.

The Vikings received seven first-place votes for 379 points from balloting by media members who regularly cover the NFL.

“Mike Zimmer is hands down the NFL’s coach of the year so far,” Newsday’s Bob Glauber said. “He’s winning despite having lost his starting quarterback and All-Pro running back, and his defense is the best there is right now.”

The New England Patriots, now with Tom Brady at quarterback, moved up a spot to No. 2. The Patriots received four first-place votes for 370 points.

The Pittsburgh Steelers jumped three spots to No. 3.

The Seahawks, who are coming off their bye week, moved to No. 4 and received the other first-place vote.

The Denver Broncos dropped four spots to No. 5 after falling to the Atlanta Falcons, who moved up to No. 7.

On Sunday, Atlanta plays at Seattle, where Falcons coach Dan Quinn won a Super Bowl as defensive coordinator of the Seahawks.

The Green Bay Packers edged up to No. 6 after defeating the New York Giants 23-16.

The Philadelphia Eagles dropped four spots to No. 8 after suffering their first loss of the season.

The Dallas Cowboys, who moved to 4-1 after routing the Cincinnati Bengals, jumped three spots to No. 9.

The Oakland Raiders, tied with Denver for first place in the AFC West, round out the top 10.

Browns shuffle quarterbacks

The Browns are shuffling quarterbacks. What else is new?

With their quarterback room looking like a medical supply store, the team released veteran quarterback Charlie Whitehurst and promoted rookie QB Kevin Hogan from the practice squad to the active roster.

Whitehurst injured his left knee in the final minutes of Sunday’s 33-13 loss to New England. The longtime backup known as “Clipboard Jesus” reached an injury settlement with the team before he was let go.

Around the league

Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson has been suspended for 10 games by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. Johnson will be eligible to return on Dec. 19. … The Lions have signed running back Justin Forsett to bolster their short-handed backfield. Forsett was released earlier this month by Baltimore. … Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward’s streak of playing in 85 straight games is over. Coach Mike Tomlin said that Heyward’s left hamstring injury will keep him out of the lineup on Sunday when the Steelers travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins. … The Minnesota Vikings have signed offensive tackle Jake Long, a former first overall draft pick recently beset by injuries. The Vikings also placed right tackle Andre Smith on injured reserve due to surgery required on his damaged triceps.