Seahawks Injury Updates: Devon Witherspoon Undergoing Imaging, Status Unclear

In the aftermath of a 38-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seattle Seahawks have a bevy of injuries on the defensive side of the football, and it remains unclear who may be available for their next game in Jacksonville.

Speaking with Mike Salk and Brock Huard on Seattle Sports 710, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald provided updates on a handful of players, including cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who underwent imaging on his injured knee on Monday morning. The former top-five pick returned to action for a 23-20 win over the Cardinals in Week 4, only to re-injure the knee and miss practice last week, and he has missed three of the past four games as a result.

The pending results of Monday’s tests will help determine when Seattle gets Witherspoon back, with Macdonald hopeful it will be sooner rather than later. But any time a player has to undergo imaging, that’s always a cause for alarm, especially with his knee not recovering as initially hoped.

"Getting imaged as we speak, hopefully we get him back,” Macdonald said of Witherspoon.

Without Witherspoon, the Seahawks have gotten by with Derion Kendrick replacing him in the slot, as the veteran has intercepted two passes and added three pass breakups in the three-game stretch. However, he allowed three receptions on three targets and had one of the many missed tackles by Macdonald’s defense in Sunday’s defeat, and the team clearly missed the Pro Bowler’s presence.

Seattle also didn’t have starting safety Julian Love on Sunday, as he missed his second game in three weeks with a lingering hamstring injury and Ty Okada replaced him in the lineup next to Coby Bryant. As is often the nature with soft tissue injuries, the Seahawks will be taking things day-by-day this week with Macdonald hinting that he could potentially return to practice at some point next week with a chance to play against the Jaguars.

“Sounds like we’re going to be working through this all week,” Macdonald said. “I’m not sure what his practice availability is on Wednesday or Thursday. “

The Seahawks entered Sunday without defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, who suffered a thigh injury chasing after quarterback Kyler Murray during a win over the Cardinals, but Macdonald thinks there’s a chance the veteran could work his way back onto the practice field this week with a chance to suit up in Jacksonville. That optimism is not shared with fellow edge rusher Derick Hall, however, after he left in the first quarter against the Buccaneers with an oblique injury.

Per Macdonald, it “looks like he [Hall] might miss this game” coming up against the Jaguars and possibly more, depending how quickly he recovers from the strain. Seattle still has to figure out the severity of the injury before putting together a timetable for a potential return and with a bye coming up in Week 8, it’s possible he could be out until after a Monday night contest against Houston in Week 7.

While Macdonald had updates on most of the Seahawks’ injured players in question, he didn’t have any additional information on cornerback Riq Woolen, who left in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss with a concussion. He will work through the protocol this week and his status will be day-to-day. Meanwhile, cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett and safety Nick Emmanwori were able to return to play after briefly exiting with injuries and both players appear to be okay heading towards Week 6.