Seahawks OTA Notebook: Tariq Woolen recovering after knee surgery
MUNICH, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 13: Tariq Woolen of Seattle Seahawks celebrates with the fans after touchdown during the NFL match between Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Allianz Arena on November 13, 2022 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Roland
RENTON, Wash. - Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen was back with the team as a spectator on Thursday after having surgery to repair a cartilage issue in his knee earlier this month.
Woolen had arthroscopic surgery on May 23 in Houston after feeling something wrong with his knee between plays during a team practice earlier in the week.
Head coach Pete Carroll called the injury "really an unusual occurrence."
"He didn’t have a play where he got hurt," Carroll said. "He was in between plays getting ready to go get lined up and he felt something and it wasn’t bad. And then before the play started, he sat down and he felt his knee and something was wrong.
"Fortunately, everything went great (with the surgery). If you see him, he's getting around terrific already. It's hopefully a four-to-six-week type of deal."
Woolen was back watching practice with a sleeve on his right leg on Thursday. He was walking around seemingly without issue and Carroll expects he'll be fully ready in plenty of time for training camp.
"His attitude has been great," Carroll said. "He never really accepted it when it happened. It was such a weird occurrence that he just took it in stride and has been really positive about it. We should be able to get him back soon."
With Woolen out and top draft pick Devon Witherspoon limited due to a hamstring issue, Mike Jackson made it clear he doesn't intend to give up his starting job easily.
Jackson intercepted Geno Smith and delivered multiple pass breakups on both quarterbacks. In organized team activities, it's difficult to make much of an impression due to the limitations of the workouts. But Jackson's day was a notable one nonetheless.
Jackson earned a starting job last year by taking advantage of training camp injuries to Sidney Jones and Artie Burns. Even when Jones, Burns and Tre Brown got healthy, Jackson managed to keep his hold on the starting job. He made 75 tackles with an interception and 12 passes defended in starting all 17 games for the team last year.
"I think he's feeling the confidence that comes from what he accomplished last time around," Carroll said of Jackson. "He played a really solid football season, did a lot of good stuff. He comes back and he feels he's in really good shape and he feels great about it."
Injury Updates:
Safety Jamal Adams and linebacker Jordyn Brooks are expected to be with the team next week for their mandatory mini-camp ahead of the summer break. Neither Adams or Brooks will be able to participate as they are still rehabbing from surgeries last season.
Adams is returning from a torn quadriceps tendon sustained in last year's season opener against the Denver Broncos while Brooks is recovering from a torn ACL sustained in December.
"Mo Kelly went down and saw those guys yesterday and visited with he and Jordyn," Carroll said. "Everything's moving along. We don't have timeframes. We won't really know for another good six weeks, eight weeks or something like that to see how far they've come. But they’ve got their eyes set on getting back and getting ready to go for the season. Whether they can make it, we'll find out."
Nose tackle Bryan Mone is also working back from a torn ACL sustained last year. Carroll said he's had some bumps in the road in his recovery but is doing all he can to get back.
"It's been a little bit up and down for him," Carroll said. "It hasn't been quite as forward moving as some of the recoveries. He's a huge guy, 360 pounds. It's harder on him than it is on the other guys. He's working really hard. He's been here the whole time. He's dedicating himself to it. We're hoping he'll make a back. We're counting on him."
Carroll didn't have encouraging information to share about the status of defensive end Alton Robinson. Robinson missed all of last season due to a knee injury and had to have surgery when it wasn't improving. Robinson was injured in a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys last August.
"A little bit of an unknown," Carroll said. "I don't know a lot about that right now. It's been a long, hard road for him. I know that. I don't really have much else on that."
Defensive end Tyreke Smith is taking part in offseason work after missing all of his rookie season due to hip issues. He only managed to take part in about two days of practice in training camp before being sidelined for the season.
"We saw him like a day and a half is all we saw," Carroll said of Smith, who was a fifth-round pick out of Ohio State last year. "Really good quickness. He understands the edge rushing. That's why we drafted him, because we thought we saw a real special knack to him. He's had a good offseason. We've really, really made him work hard in the weight room and working on his strength and getting physically right. He had a difficult injury in his hip, but he's back and going now. He's doing everything, so he's full speed."
Right tackle Abe Lucas had offseason shoulder surgery and is close to being back to full strength,
"He had offseason surgery, and he's doing great," Carroll said. "His strength is almost all the way back. There's no hesitation that he'll make it back in our thinking at all. He's doing all of the work. He's getting all the walkthrough stuff and all that."
Cornerback Devon Witherspoon and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba have both been limited in their work due to hamstring injuries. Smith-Njigba was able to do more activities on Thursday while Witherspoon is still being held back.
"You saw Jaxon had full speed reps today," Carroll said. "These guys have been getting all of the walkthrough periods. They're accumulating tons of plays. It's a big part of this format for us, so those guys are really getting the learning down. I'm not worried about that at all.
"Spoon, he's not quite ready to really push it. He's had a ton of work though. Both these guys have looked great. They both have shown their awareness. First off, their awareness, their comfort with the game and understanding, they make it look right. It's been really easy to tell that from what we've gotten done. But I think next week, and even tomorrow we'll see more out of Spoon, and we'll just keep going. If it all worked out today with Jaxon, we're in good shape to keep adding on."