Carroll trying to will Devon Witherspoon back from ‘legitimate’ injury to save Seahawks
The best player on the Seahawks’ sinking defense needs to rise up quickly.
Tests Monday showed Devon Witherspoon has what coach Pete Carroll termed a “legitimate” hip pointer. It will take all of the coming week into next for the Seahawks to determine if the fifth pick in this year’s NFL draft can play next Monday night against Philadelphia (10-3).
Witherspoon’s deep bruise to the top outside of the hip bone came Sunday from breaking up a pass to 49ers tight end George Kittle, after Seahawks’ safety Jamal Adams hit Kittle from behind into Witherspoon early in the first quarter. The rookie cornerback and nickel defense back missed all but San Francisco’s first seven offensive plays and the final 3-1/2 quarters of Seattle’s 28-16 loss. The 49ers rolled for 527 yards.
The fourth straight defeat for the Seahawks (6-7) have them on the verge of playoff elimination for only the third time in 12 years.
A defense that allowed San Francisco to roll up 10 yards per play Sunday and has allowed 100 points and 1,315 yards the last three games needs Witherspoon like the Seahawks need wins.
Carroll sounds like he’s almost willing the NFL defensive rookie of the month for October to get back in time for the Philadelphia game next Monday to save the defense.
And Seattle’s season.
“He can make things happen when he’s playing. And you miss him when he’s not out there. It’s an obvious trait that he brings, ” Carroll said. “You miss the play-making. Right off the bat he got hurt knocking the ball down. What else would he have done in that game, had he had some chances?
“I would expect that he’s going to make it back this week, and he’ll be out there battling again.”
The effect of losing Devon Witherspoon
Tre Brown usually plays left cornerback when Witherspoon goes from left corner inside to slot corner. That’s on the two-thirds of defensive snaps Seattle typically plays nickel defense. But Brown was inactive at San Francisco with a heel injury.
When Witherspoon got hurt with 5-1/2 minutes left in the first quarter, Carroll and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt went with three safeties for most of the 49ers game. Jamal Adams was down nearer the line of scrimmage like an outside linebacker for much of the game while Julian Love stayed back with fellow safety Quandre Diggs.
Without Witherspoon covering the middle of the field and blitzing, Niners coach/play caller Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Brock Purdy feasted on repeated attacks of those three safeties
Deebo Samuel ran past flat-footed Adams for a 54-yard touchdown pass from Purdy on Seattle’s failed linebacker blitz. That put San Francisco up 14-10 midway through the second quarter.
On a third and 6 with the same score late in the third quarter, Samuel got around and past Diggs in the middle of the field for a completion from Purdy to the 1-yard line. Samuel’s touchdown run on the next play made it 21-10 San Francisco.
Seattle’s Drew Lock, starting for injured Geno Smith, threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson three scrimmage plays later to get the Seahawks back in the game at 21-16 entering the fourth quarter.
But then Shanahan ran a play-action pass on second and 9. Love, playing the slot on the defense’s right side, and right cornerback Riq Woolen zoomed up for the run fake — even after Carroll said the coaches spent all last week drilling the Niners don’t run the ball but throw play-action on second and 9. Kittle ran past the charging Love into the space Woolen should have been. The 44-yard touchdown pass from Purdy with 14 minutes left effectively ended the game at 28-16 San Francisco, the final score.
The score was 7-7 when Witherspoon played. It was 21-9 San Francisco after Witherspoon went out.
Witherspoon’s pass breakup on the play he was injured Sunday was his 16th PBU this season. That’s third-most in the NFL, behind only San Francisco’s Charvarius Ward (20) and Jacksonville Darious Williams (19).
“We’ve all an opportunity to evaluate ‘Spoon, because we’ve seen him in so many situations already. You can see the explosive makeup that he has, the instincts that he has, the play-making, the toughness, the juice...he’s a fantastic ball player.
“I say that in an overall, really endearing way, because he gets the game. The game comes easy to him.”
For a team for which nothing is coming easy right now, that makes Witherspoon indispensable.
This story was originally published December 11, 2023 at 4:19 PM.
