The Seattle Seahawks may be on the cups of getting a much-needed defensive reinforcement back for Sunday’s playoff-crucial matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Saturday morning that the team is hopeful rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon “can play Sunday vs. Pittsburgh after a two-game absence,” adding, “Source classified as 60/40 chance he’ll be ready to go.”
Witherspoon has missed two games with what Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll described as a hip pointer.
“It’s a legitimate hip pointer, he took a knee in the hip, and that’s what he’s dealing with,” Carroll told reporters two weeks ago, according to Seahawks.com. “He was way better today than he was yesterday in terms of discomfort, so hopefully we’ll make some good progress on that. We won’t know until late in the week how he’s doing though.”
Witherspoon was the Seahawks’ first-round pick (fifth overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft — one of the selections the team acquired from the Denver Broncos in the Russell Wilson trade.
The 23-year-old cornerback’s standout rookie season includes 46 solo tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and 16 pass deflections.
The 8-7 Seahawks sit in third place in the NFC West. A victory against the Steelers would increase their playoff odds to 88 percent, while a loss would drop them to 41 percent, according to figures published on NFL.com.
“They play tough, they’re aggressive,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said this week. “They don’t settle for just lining up and giving it to you; you just have to beat them. They’re going to come after you; they’re going to attack you. They’re always challenging with the defensive game plans; big backs run the football, the whole thing.
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