RENTON, Wash. - Continuing to deal with significant injuries on the defensive side of the football as they brace for a clash with the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks ruled out star cornerback Riq Woolen as one of three starters set to sit out on Thursday Night Football at Lumen Field.
Nursing a sprained ankle suffered in Sunday's 29-20 loss to the Giants, Woolen didn't practice at all during an abbreviated, walkthrough-oriented week, creating questions about how the Seahawks will try to replace him on a short week against a quality opponent with plenty of offensive firepower.
After stepping into the lineup in the fourth quarter last weekend against New York, Seattle could turn to fifth-round pick Nehemiah Pritchett to replace Woolen. The former Auburn standout played a total of 12 defensive snaps, allowing two receptions on four targets for 22 yards and generating a clutch third down pass breakup late in the fourth quarter to force the Giants to punt, giving the Seahawks one last shot to tie the game.
But while Pritchett handled his first extended action fairly well, coach Mike Macdonald wasn't ready to commit to him starting his first career game while talking to reporters after Wednesday's practice, only going as far as saying he hopes he can build off of a solid debut if called upon.
"Hopefully he picks off from where he ended the game the other day," Macdonald said. "You saw him come in and put some good snaps on tape for us. A couple of critical third downs. So, if and when he gets his chance, he should keep on doing what he is doing."
Throwing a rookie such as Pritchett into the fire against the 49ers may not be the most ideal situation with a talented trio of receivers in Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and Jauan Jennings ready to capitalize on an inexperienced cornerback. With that said, he does have legitimate 4.3 speed and has played against top-flight competition coming from the SEC, so he may be better prepared for the opportunity than most day three draft selections would be.
Still, Macdonald certainly has other alternatives if he doesn't trust Pritchett to be able to handle playing under the lights against a top-10 caliber offense this early in his career, starting with reliable veteran Artie Burns being available to elevate from the practice squad.
Now in his third season with the Seahawks, Burns had a strong training camp before suffering an injury in the preseason finale, seeing extensive snaps in the slot with the first team defense when Devon Witherspoon and Woolen lined up on the boundary. With 39 career starts under his belt and prior experience playing against the 49ers, he would seem to be the safest bet on short notice to jump into the lineup and keep the secondary afloat.
Promoting Burns for Thursday night would also allow more flexibility for Seattle, as he has played both outside cornerback and nickel cornerback in his career and Macdonald could still move Witherspoon around, which he wouldn't be able to do if Pritchett, who has only played on the boundary, was in the starting lineup instead.
While the Seahawks haven't worked Coby Bryant at cornerback since Macdonald arrived and he has been seeing work as a reserve safety, he previously played in 17 games in the slot as a rookie only two years ago and played on the outside at Cincinnati in college. In a pinch, he could slide back down to cornerback if needed. though safety Julian Love's hamstring injury may make that an unlikely solution with Bryant being his primary backup.
Ultimately, Seattle will have to decide between Burns and Pritchett, choosing between proven experience or athletic upside. It's also possible that Macdonald and his staff could employ a by-committee approach, starting one or the other while mixing in the other player in certain sub-packages while moving Witherspoon inside and out.
Regardless, even with Byron Murphy and Uchenna Nwosu out up front, there may not be a bigger question left unanswered personnel-wise heading into Thursday's game and the Seahawks won't be expecting Burns or Pritchett to be able to replace Woolen on their own accord. Schematically, they will have to help out those two players and most importantly, generating a consistent pass rush to take pressure off of them in coverage will be imperative for success without one of their top playmakers in the secondary.
