Seattle Seahawks first-round pick cornerback Devon Witherspoon speaks with reporters prior to practice on August 3, 2023 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton, Wash. (Photo by Curtis Crabtree / FOX 13)
RENTON, Wash. - Seattle Seahawks top draft pick Devon Witherspoon is expected to make his debut with the team this Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
Witherspoon has been a full participant in practice this week for Seattle after missing the entire preseason and last week's regular season opener against the Los Angeles Rams because of a hamstring injury. The fifth-overall pick in this spring's NFL Draft is eager to play after all the time he's missed with the team.
"I feel like I'm ready. "I still got to get the jitters out as it's my first game. But it is what it is and just got to go out there and play," Witherspoon said.
Witherspoon said it's been difficult to miss so much time as he's not used to having an injury keep him out of the lineup.
"It's been a test of my patience," he said. "It's my first time dealing with an injury like this. It's just been prolonged longer than I thought it would be. So I'm just trusting the process of just trying to get through it."
The Seahawks kept Witherspoon limited early in the offseason due to a lingering hamstring issue he had coming into the team. He then missed the first two days of training camp in a contract dispute with the club before ultimately signing his contract and joining the team for Day 3 of camp. Witherspoon then injured his hamstring again – same hamstring, different portion of the muscle – the week of the team's preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
"It's been frustrating," Witherspoon said. "It's just been bothering me how long it's been going on. But I've just been trusting the process, going in just trying to continue to build straight fitness. So just been trusting the process and how it's going."
Witherspoon was able to return to limited participation with the team in practice last week and head coach Pete Carroll said he probably could have played against the Rams. However, they decided to be cautious and give him another week to get ready to make his debut.
"This is his first chance, this is his opener, legit opener. Excited to see him," Carroll said. "He’s got such a great spirit that he adds to our club. I can’t wait for him to be contributing on the field so they can feel him, and the players can play off of him because he’s got a real way about him."
Witherspoon's debut is highly anticipated as he's Seattle's highest draft pick selected since Aaron Curry was taken with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Witherspoon has been used primarily in the nickel cornerback role during training camp as Seattle sought ways to best maximize their personnel and add positional flexibility.
During camp, Witherspoon's on field charisma was obvious. He's quick to talk and react to the previous play and expresses himself openly on the field.
"You just got to have a tough mindset in this position," Witherspoon said. "You can't just let anything beat you so you just got to go out there with a lot of confidence and swagger to you and go out there and play."
And despite being undersized at 6 feet, 185 pounds, he's also willing to be physical, which would suit him well in the nickel role as he's closer to the line of scrimmage.
"He reminds me of like a little gnat that doesn’t go away,." wide receiver DK Metcalf said. "He’s always just around the ball, he's always just going to be around you, he’s always active. Last week in practice he chased me down still trying to punch the ball out and I’m 30 yards down the field. That’s just the type of player that he is and I expect that from him. A top-five pick who’s not going to back down from a challenge, he’s going to step up and he's going to try and make a play every time he steps on the field.
"He’s a physical corner, especially for his size, you don’t expect it. But I see why we took him at pick number five because he’s just a competitive person through and through. He’s not going to back down from a challenge"
MIke Jackson and Tre Brown have been competing throughout training camp for the starting job at left cornerback while Witherspoon has been sidelined. Carroll has said repeatedly that Witherspoon will continue to be involved in that mix too when he's back to full speed.
"Real confident guy," fellow cornerback Riq Woolen said. "Knows what he’s doing out there, plays the nickel and outside corner. That speaks a lot too, because as a rookie, not a lot of guys can play both. For a guy like him to come in and know what to do and know the different tools used in coverages is going to help us out a lot."
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