It appears Devon Witherspoon won’t be woofin’ at his old pal who’s now in Pittsburgh.
Witherspoon, Seattle’s two-time Pro Bowl cornerback, is officially doubtful to play Sunday when the Seahawks (0-1) face former teammate DK Metcalf and the Steelers (1-0) in Pittsburgh (10 a.m., FOX television, channel 13 locally).
Witherspoon has not practiced this week. He played 100% of Seattle’s defensive snaps in Seattle’s loss to San Francisco last weekend. Wednesday he appeared on the Seahawks’ injury practice report with a new knee injury. Witherspoon’s likely absence means Josh Jobe, Riq Woolen coming off a bad end of the game last week plus veteran Shaquill Griffin are likely to be Seattle’s top three cornerbacks Sunday against new Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ quick passing game.
All three cornerbacks appear likely to play when Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald goes to nickel defense with a fifth defensive back.
Macdonald did that 80% of the time last weekend against the 49ers, even when initial fifth DB Nick Emmanwori went out injured.
Emmanwori is out for Sunday, per Seattle’s official injury report Friday for the game. The safety and second-round draft choice sustained a high-ankle sprain five snaps into the opening game last weekend. Teammate DeMarcus Lawrence fell on the back of Emmanwori’s leg as the rookie was tackling San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey for a loss.
Uchenna Nwosu is not on the injury report for Sunday’s game. It appears the outside linebacker may play in Pittsburgh. It would be his first game since Jan. 5, last season’s finale. He had knee surgery in the offseason. The veteran pass rusher missed 11 of 17 games last season. He’s played in just 12 of Seattle’s last 35 regular-season games dating to the start of the 2023 season.