The Sports Xchange

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks enter training camp with one of the biggest unanswered questions of any team in the NFL — the future of quarterback Russell Wilson, whose talks for a contract extension remain ongoing.

But while it remains uncertain if Wilson will have a new deal when the team opens camp on Friday, what is not in question is the high hopes that greet the team.

Seattle will open practices thinking that a third straight Super Bowl trip is not only realistic, but the expectation.

And while some on the outside might wonder about the team’s psyche given how the Super Bowl ended last February, Seattle players and coaches have said consistently that they think the team may actually be able to use the Super Bowl loss as added motivation.

“I told a lot of people, it feels like this offseason, everybody worked their hardest,” safety Kam Chancellor said during the spring. “I’ve seen guys out here busting their tails, the whole offseason going fast-tempo. Guys are lifting like crazy. It’s just like the mindset is just sharpened. It just sharpened even more. We’re more focused, more driven. We’re just hungry for the first game of the year.”

While many had wondered when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl following the 2013 season whether they would be able to keep the team together, so far the roster has stayed relatively stable (though Wilson’s situation obviously remains fluid).

The Seahawks return all but one starter on defense from last year — cornerback Byron Maxwell, who signed with the Eagles. That keeps almost wholly intact a defense that has ranked among the best in the NFL three years running and with another year or two at that level can continue to stake its claim as one of the best defensive units in NFL history.

If there are question marks on defense they are in the depth in the defensive line and in the secondary.

While the starting spots on the line are set, Seattle will need some younger players to step up this season to provide depth both at tackle and end.

Seattle’s secondary appears in better shape health-wise than might have been thought at the end of the Super Bowl, when there was a thought that Chancellor (knee), cornerback Richard Sherman (elbow) and safety Earl Thomas (shoulder) might all have to have surgery.

Instead, only Thomas had surgery, and Chancellor and Sherman recovered well enough to take part fully in all offseason drills. Thomas may be limited early in training camp, but the team’s expectation is that he will be ready to go by the first game on Sept. 13. The Seahawks signed veteran Cary Williams from the Eagles to replace Maxwell, and Seattle appears to have a pretty set starting 11 on defense entering camp.

Offensively, the Seahawks have some more uncertainty, especially in finding a replacement for center Max Unger and in solidifying the receiving rotation.

Veteran Lemuel Jeanpierre may emerge as the replacement for Unger, and the receiving corps should be aided greatly by the addition of tight end Jimmy Graham, who, as he did with the Saints, figures to line up often as an off-line receiver.

Regardless of how his contract situation works out, Wilson will be the quarterback in 2015, and given his steadiness of preparation, it’s not expected that an uncertain future would impact his play on the field.

Still, that’s a question that’s impossible to answer until the situation arises, which makes the opening day of training camp as intriguing as ever for the Seahawks.

CAMP CALENDAR

July 30: Entire team reports.

July 31: First practice

Aug. 19: Camp ends

–Team strength: Secondary.

The health of Seattle’s secondary seemed a big question at the end of the Super Bowl when there were rumblings that Richard Sherman (elbow), Earl Thomas (shoulder) and Kam Chancellor (knee) might all have to have surgery. But Sherman and Chancellor avoided surgery and were able to fully participate in offseason drills. While Thomas may be limited early in camp, it is expected he will fully recover by early in the season. The Seahawks lost Byron Maxwell to free agency but replaced him with veteran Cary Williams. Assuming there are no setbacks in Thomas’ recovery and that Williams plays to the level he has in the past, the Legion of Boom should be as salty as ever.

–Breakout player: Tight end Jimmy Graham.

Is it fair to call one of the best tight ends in the NFL a breakout player? It may be when he’s on to a new team, having been traded to the Seahawks in March in a deal that netted the Saints center Max Unger and Seattle’s first-round pick. Seattle tried a similar gamble two years ago with Percy Harvin, and other than one memorable kickoff return in the Super Bowl that move was pretty much a disaster. The team is much more confident that things will work out with Graham, who already has earned raves from coaches and players for how he has integrated himself into the Seahawks’ way and accepted his role.

–Work in progress: Offensive line.

The offensive line continues to be the biggest question on what otherwise still is one of the most talented rosters in the NFL.

Interestingly, four of the five spots on the line appear set — left tackle Russell Okung, left guard Alvin Bailey, right guard J.R Sweezy and right tackle Justin Britt.

But the one open spot is a big one — center, where Max Unger played the last four years. Unger was regarded as the steadying force of the line and the glue that kept it together. But he was traded to New Orleans as part of the deal that netted tight end Jimmy Graham.

However, Unger missed 10 games last season, and the Seahawks got some fairly able play in his absence from Lemuel Jeanpierre and Patrick Lewis. Jeanpierre was the starter throughout the offseason, but Lewis and Drew Nowak, a member of the practice squad last season, also remain in contention as does rookie Kristjan Sokoli.

Coaches hope to get that one settled fairly early in training camp so the line can get needed continuity heading into the season.