RENTON — There was already uncertainty heading into the week concerning how the Seahawks will roll out their lineup in the secondary Sunday against Tampa Bay, mostly because of the increasingly tenuous situation surrounding cornerback Riq Woolen.
That uncertainty has only increased as the week has progressed with starting cornerback Devon Witherspoon and safety Julian Love remaining on the injured list.
Witherspoon (knee) and Love (hamstring) sat out of practice Thursday for a second consecutive day. Also sitting out was defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (quadriceps) and offensive lineman Josh Jones (ankle).
Everyone else was a full participant, including safety Nick Emmanwori, who sat out the last three games with a high ankle sprain but appears on track to return against the Bucs, a game scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m. at Lumen Field.
Woolen has played the third-most snaps of any Seahawks defensive player this season at 269 behind only the 272 of safety Coby Bryant and middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV.
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Woolen was essentially demoted to a third cornerback role in last Thursday’s 23-20 win over Arizona, taken off the field for five snaps when the Seahawks had only two cornerbacks on the field — Witherspoon and Josh Jobe, who played every snap against the Cardinals.
Witherspoon missed the previous two games before returning against Arizona because of an MCL contusion suffered in the season opener against the 49ers.
It’s unclear if Witherspoon had a setback or is simply getting some rest. Coach Mike Macdonald does not speak to the media on Thursdays but will following Friday’s practice, when the Seahawks will have to release a game status report.
Love played every snap against the Cardinals after sitting out against the Saints and it’s unclear if he has had a setback or is just getting some rest days.
If Witherspoon and Love can’t play, it may make moot any discussion of Woolen potentially having a decreased role against the Bucs.
But if the Seahawks are at full strength in the secondary — something they haven’t been since the first series of the 49ers game — there will be plenty of intrigue how Macdonald uses Woolen.
Woolen has been called for a team-leading six penalties, including three against Arizona, and gave up two late completions that proved critical in the loss to the 49ers as part of an erratic start to his fourth season with the Seahawks — the last on his rookie deal.
His struggles, and that his contract expires after this season, helped fuel a story that broke Sunday from the NFL Network that other teams are monitoring if the Seahawks will make Woolen available before the trade deadline hits on Nov. 4.
If Woolen isn’t going to have a major role, the Seahawks may be more than happy to try to get a future draft pick and unload the rest of the $5.4 million he is due to make this season, or maybe even get a veteran in return who could help at another spot.
The thought is the Seahawks could view Woolen expendable with the emergence of Jobe and Derion Kendrick — who was claimed off waivers from the Rams in August and has two interceptions — as well as the return of Emmanwori likely meaning more use of three-safety sets.
When they went with three safeties against the Cardinals — with D’Anthony Bell filling in for Emmanwori — Woolen came off the field.
Macdonald seemed to fuel speculation of Woolen’s future when he was asked on Wednesday if Kendrick has earned the right to compete for the starting nickel spot and have Witherspoon play outside.
Witherspoon typically moves inside when the Seahawks go with three cornerbacks, with Jobe and Woolen on the outside.
“Yes,” Macdonald said of Kendrick, who started 18 games for the Rams in the 2022 and 2023 seasons before sitting out last year after suffering an ACL injury. “Short answer is yes.”
The implication of that answer is Macdonald appears to be leaving open the idea that Witherspoon and Jobe would play outside and Kendrick in the slot in the nickel defense, with Woolen on the bench.
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But if Witherspoon is sidelined, the Seahawks would seem to have to stick with Jobe and Woolen on the outside and Kendrick on the inside — the same alignment they used in wins over the Steelers and Saints.
The Seahawks also have veteran Shaquill Griffin on the practice squad and his presence also could make them feel more comfortable dealing Woolen.
Asked about Woolen after Thursday’s practice, defensive coordinator Aden Durde echoed what he and Macdonald have said in the past — that Woolen makes a lot of good plays but needs to clean up the mistakes, especially on how he plays balls in the air.
Durde said he feels Woolen has taken some steps toward fixing some of the problems that have plagued him in practice this week.
“He plays a position (where) there’s a lot of the game on Riq you don’t see,’’ Durde said. “If the ball doesn’t go to your side you (observers) don’t see it. If you watch the tape there’s some good stuff — there’s some really good stuff. And then at times there’s some stuff where he gets attacked.
“I think when you get in these situations as you go through you’ve got to focus on your technique, you’ve got to focus on the process and I feel like Riq doing that this week. And you come out, you work your technique and you win at the line of scrimmage and it just improves you week by week. I don’t think you have to overthink these things.’’
What that means for Woolen for Sunday remains to be seen.
Bucs appear a little healthier
While the Seahawks injury report was the same Thursday as Wednesday, Tampa Bay’s improved a little bit.
Five players who were listed as limited or out on Wednesday were back to full participant on Thursday, most notably quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is dealing with knee and right biceps issues. Mayfield told reporters Wednesday he didn’t expect the injuries to keep him out Sunday.
Others upgraded to full included defensive lineman Greg Gaines, a former UW standout who sat out Wednesday with a pec issue, receiver Sterling Shepard (foot) and linebacker Haason Reddick (neck).
But among five players who did not practice were starting running back Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder), receiver Mike Evans (who is expected to miss the game with a hamstring injury that sidelined him last week) and starting right cornerback Jamel Dean (hip).
Note
The New York Jets signed running back Khalil Herbert on Thursday. He was on the Seahawks’ practice squad until terminating his contract on Wednesday. That explains the opening on the practice squad that they filled later that day by signing former UW and O’Dea High standout Myles Gaskin.
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times who primarily covers the Seahawks but also dabbles in other sports. He has worked at The Times since 2002, reporting on University of Washington Husky football and basketball for his first 10 years at the paper before switching to the Seahawks in 2013.