Will Dissly spent Thanksgiving with his family in Montana last year

for what he guesses was the first time since 2013.The Seattle Seahawks tight end would rather have been on the field with his teammates.But Dissly D.J. Fluker Color Rush Jersey , who missed several other Thanksgiving celebrations while playing in college, was in the initial stages of recovering from surgery for a torn patellar tendon. The chance to be at home was a much-needed break after going from wrapping up his career with the Washington Huskies, to preparing for the NFL draft, to beginning his pro career."I was in a straight-leg brace for six weeks and it was a good opportunity to go and spend time with them, spend Thanksgiving with the family and kind of just heal and rest. If I'm here I would just want to do more and more, and I think rest and recovery is important," he said. "It was almost like a mini vacation."Once he returned to Seattle, however, he turned his entire focus to recovering from the injury that derailed his promising rookie season. Seattle's fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft had quickly developed into a contributor when he went down in Week 4 against Arizona.Ten months later, Dissly is going through full team drills in training camp and feeling optimism that he will be ready by the start of the season."I think anytime you go down and you're kind of removed from the spotlight a little bit, it really puts you in a humbling state," Dissly said. "I really tried to self-reflect, kind of figure out what got me here. That's work ethic Barkevious Mingo Color Rush Jersey , that's my family. Dedication to the game, love for game. That's just something you don't lose."Dissly is part of a position group that is vital to the success of Seattle's offense. With the Seahawks returning to a run-first mentality a year ago, the need for tight ends that can block on the edge became even more important. It's why drafting Dissly was critical — he was arguably the best blocking tight end in last year's draft.When Dissly went down, Seattle had to adjust. Ed Dickson and Nick Vannett were solid at the position, but the Seahawks regularly turned to using offensive tackle George Fant as a sixth lineman lined up at tight end. Seattle still intends to use Fant in that role, but Dissly's return would be a boost."There's a lot of really good pieces there. I don't know if it's going to be one guy, I think it could be a little more by committee," offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. "You got George Fant there, you got (Dissly) coming back, Nick Vannett scored a lot of touchdowns for us, Ed Dickson, that veteran leadership that he brings is awesome. It's a really good group, so again we think that's its very flexible."Another option is Jacob Hollister Ed Dickson Color Rush Jersey , who was acquired in a trade with New England and has the ability to play off the line and create matchup advantages.The preseason will be an important test for Dissly. While he hasn't had any discomfort in the knee during his first week of activity, Dissly is trying not to get ahead of himself."I've been going every day, putting pads on. It's been feeling really good and I'm excited to see the next day and what it has to offer," Dissly said.NOTES: QB Russell Wilson was absent from practice Friday. Wilson's grandfather, Dr. Harrison B. Wilson, died Sunday and his memorial services were Friday and Saturday in Virginia. It's the first training camp or regular season practice Wilson is believed to have missed in his career. ... DE Ezekiel Ansah was in a helmet and shoulder pads for the early portions of practice for the first time Friday as he continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Paul Allen’s love was basketball and he delved into professional football out of loyalty to his hometown Seattle.In the wake of his death, Allen’s ownership of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and NFL’s Seattle Seahawks has come into focus because of questions about how the franchises will move forward in his absence.No one is providing many details yet about the succession plans for Allen’s franchise holdings in the wake of his death Monday from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. His primary franchises were the Blazers and Seahawks, although he also owned a small stake in Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders.“Paul thoughtfully addressed how the many institutions he founded and supported would continue after he was no longer able to lead them. This isn’t the time to deal in those specifics as we focus on Paul’s family,” according to a statement from Allen’s company, Vulcan Inc. “We will continue to work on furthering Paul’s mission and the projects he entrusted to us. There are no changes imminent for Vulcan, the teams, the research institutes or museums.”For now Jaron Brown Color Rush Jersey , Allen’s teams will continue to be overseen by Vulcan Sports and Entertainment, an arm of the company he created. His sister, Jody Allen, and executive Bert Kolde were the other members of the Seahawks’ board of directors with Allen. Jody Allen may take a more prominent role with the NFL franchise going forward.“It doesn’t feel like it’s time to be engaging in that conversation. We’re more into the conversation about recognizing what took place and how to respect Paul and his desires and all of that,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday. “There’s plenty of time to talk about all that stuff. It’s not even a factor in our minds. I understand the interest but there will be plenty of time.“Nothing is changing. Paul wouldn’t want us to do anything different than what we’re doing, which is to go for it and to represent it every way we can until you can’t. And we’re going to go for it just in that fashion.”A similar message was being relayed in Portland, where Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey and Vulcan Sports and Entertainment CEO Chris McGowan spoke about Allen. The Trail Blazers are dealing with the death of Allen just a couple of days before beginning the regular season at home against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.“At this point we’re just dealing with the death and we don’t have any imminent announcements,” McGowan said. “At an appropriate time I’m sure we’ll come and talk with everyone about what potentially could happen but right now we’re just dealing with the grief.”Olshey said his final phone conversation with Allen was in early October with the owner asking if the Blazers GM was watching that night’s preseason games.“He wanted to talk basketball,” Olshey said. “One of the things that is really unique about Paul is that everything was bifurcated. … If he wanted to talk hoops, he talked hoops. If he wanted to talk music, he called Mick Jagger. If he wanted to talk football, he called Pete Carroll. Who else gets that?”