At Lumen Field on Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks will play without safety Jamal Adams for the third straight game. Adams returned to practice this week, but only somewhat, as he attempts to recover from persistent knee soreness.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, head coach Pete Carroll mentioned that veteran defense Adams was “bouncing around” at walkthrough following a multi-week vacation, but he did not provide many details regarding Adams’ condition or any indication of when he would be available for Week 17. It seems that after three days, Seattle’s coaches decided not to activate him again because they didn’t think he was playing well enough.
This is our first opportunity to free him in a long time. Carroll stated earlier in the week, “He’s had a good break, and we’ll see what that means.” “I’m glad for him, but I’m unable to draw any conclusions from it. I’m sure he’s eager to get back out there.
The Seahawks will press on with Quandre Diggs in the secondary and Julian Love as Adams’ substitute despite his continued injury. The fifth-year veteran has been playing excellent football lately; in Week 15, he won NFC Defensive Player of the Year after grabbing two interceptions of Jalen Hurts during a nail-biting 20-17 victory on Monday Night Football.
Though Love skipped practice the previous week to be with his wife, who gave birth to their first child, Noah, on Friday, Love took a private plane to Nashville and began the Seahawks’ Sunday victory over the Titans, recording three tackles and a pass breakup in his 66 defensive snaps.
In addition to Adams, Seattle also excluded tackle Jason Peters, 41, who has been out of commission this week due to plantar fasciitis in his foot. The squad will probably start McClendon Curtis or Raiqwon O’Neal as a backup behind Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas if he isn’t able to suit up. Since being selected from separate practice squads in Week 2, the two undrafted rookies have mostly been kept off the field as healthy scratches.
Frank Clark, an outside linebacker who has only appeared in one of the previous three games, will miss his second straight week of action because of sickness. Due to a rib injury, receiver Dee Eskridge will also miss his sixth straight game.
The Seahawks have ruled out four players and labeled six others as questionable to participate against the Steelers. These players include cornerback Devon Witherspoon, running back Ken Walker III, linebacker Jordyn Brooks, and receiver DK Metcalf.
In Nashville, Brooks missed the whole second half due to a sprained ankle that has been troubling him for several weeks. Devin Bush filled in for Brooks. Carroll said on Wednesday that he was “pretty sore,” implying that he might struggle to make enough improvement to suit up by Sunday. Carroll did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday.
Based on Carroll’s report on Friday, it is expected that Bush will start for Seattle with Bobby Wagner and face his old squad. Making the most of his extended playing time last weekend in Brooks’ place, he led the team in tackles this season with six against Tennessee.
Carroll described Bush as a pretty solid all-around athlete with good versatility on Wednesday. As an outside backer, you’ve seen us play him close to the edge quite a bit. In addition to his extreme flexibility, he is a very skilled natural football player. He blends in. Although he has spent a lot of time behind Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks, his spirit has never wavered. This week, he has a terrific opportunity to play a lot, and I know he will be excited about it.”
Carroll gave a more optimistic update on Witherspoon’s prognosis earlier in the week. The talented rookie has missed the last two games due to a hip pointer. Barring unanticipated circumstances on Friday, he should have a good chance of suiting up after participating in limited manner on Wednesday and Thursday and almost making it back to Tennessee last weekend.
Walker, who had a shoulder ailment last week, was listed on the injury report but still participated in the offense against the Titans. His fate for the weekend is still unknown as he has missed both of this week’s practices due to an illness that was added to the report, but the Seahawks haven’t hesitated to play him even if he misses practice.
Regarding Metcalf, the team added him as a non-participant on Thursday with a fresh back ailment, even though he wasn’t listed on Seattle’s injury report on Wednesday. He sat out a Week 7 victory over Arizona due to a hip ailment earlier in the season, but he has historically been able to recover from injuries in time to play on Sunday.
The Seahawks injury report was completed by the dubious designations of Mario Edwards and Nick Bellore, both of whom had knee injuries. Both have missed this week’s practice sessions, thus their status for Sunday’s game may depend on them.
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