With 3 starters out again in Seahawks secondary, Shaquill Griffin is back in
A Florida guy is re-joining the Seahawks’ defense in Jacksonville.
On Sunday in his home state against one of his former teams, Shaquill Griffin will do what he did not do last weekend in Seattle against his hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That is, dress in full uniform.
Not only that, the ninth-year cornerback from St. Petersburg is likely to play for the first time this season against the Jaguars.
He may start. He may have to.
The re-debut of Griffin, 30, in his second Seahawks go-round will happen Sunday because Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon is doubtful to play. Witherspoon has missed three of the first five games with a bruised medial collateral ligament in his knee. He injured it in Seattle’s opening game against San Francisco Sept. 7.
“Shaq’s going to be part of the plan, based on what’s going on,” coach Mike Macdonald said following practice Friday, just before the team got on its plane to Jacksonville.
It’s been a lot going on, particularly in the secondary.
Seattle likely will be without at least one of its starting defensive backs Sunday for the sixth time in six games this season. The Seahawks haven’t been whole in the secondary since the fifth play of the season. That’s when rookie safety Nick Emmanwori got a high-ankle sprain early in his first NFL game, that Sept. 7 loss to the 49ers.
Emmanwori and Lawrence, the veteran defensive end who missed last weekend’s game against Tampa Bay with a thigh injury, are back to play Sunday against the Jaguars.
But Julian Love probably isn’t going to play. The Pro Bowl safety is doubtful with a hamstring injury.
Cornerback Riq Woolen also is doubtful to play in Jacksonville. He is still in the league’s concussion protocol from a hit in the second half last weekend in the 38-35 loss to the Buccaneers.
Woolen practiced on a limited basis this week, but his response following those practices fell short of the protocol’s standards to advance more toward playing.
Derion Kendrick, in the nickel, fifth defensive-back spot because of Witherspoon’s injury, played poorly. He looked particularly disinterested in tackling Buccaneers ball carriers on consecutive plays near the goal line early in that game.
Then again, most of the Seahawks looked disinterested in tackle while giving up 38 points in yet another home loss last weekend.
Safety D’Anthony Bell, up from the practice squad because of all the injuries, replaced Kendrick for parts of the second half against the Buccaneers. Bell got the only sack and first hit of the game on Baker Mayfield in the fourth quarter, with 8 minutes left.
Kendrick got his opportunity in part because of his two interceptions in consecutive games at Pittsburgh and against New Orleans in weeks two and three.
Asked about Kendrick’s tackling Friday, Macdonald said: “Our whole team needs to tackle better.
“There’s a stat that in the box (near the line of scrimmage between the tackles) we’re really good, out of the box we’re not so good.
“So, I mean, we know the answer to that one.”
Former practice-squad player Ty Okada started last weekend, for Love.
So it goes. All the injuries plus Kendrick’s tackling are why Griffin is coming up from the practice squad. The Seahawks will announce that elevation officially on Saturday.
“Shaq will be part of the plan, based on what’s going on,” Macdonald said.
Given all the injuries and absences in the secondary, it’s something of a luxury for the Seahawks to have a veteran of 107 NFL regular-season games and 82 starts coming up from the practice squad to play cornerback against quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the surprising Jaguars (4-1).
“I love having Shaq out there, because he competes,” Macdonald said. “The guy just attacks all the mental stuff; he knows it. He’s got a great attitude. And he competes.
“And we can go into games with that, for sure.”
Shaquill Griffin’s 2nd Seattle stint
Griffin signed back to the team July 2. He was their third-round draft choice in 2017, and a full-time starter for the Seahawks in each of his first four NFL seasons. General manager John Schneider decided not to re-sign him following the 2020 season. He signed with Jacksonville, for three years and up to $44.5 million, money Seattle didn’t want to spend on him.
He started 19 games over two seasons before the Jaguars released him. He signed with Houston and played 10 games for the Texans, with six starts, before they cut him. He finished the 2023 season playing for Carolina.
The Minnesota Vikings signed him for 2024 to be a nickel cornerback. He played in all 17 games for them before Minnesota let his contract expire this past offseason.
He’s said Macdonald’s defense and moving guys around in different coverage schemes fit how he likes to play.
“I love it. It still gives me a chance to be aggressive,” Griffin said. “I know a lot of things I am good at, putting hands on, get a chance to press up. I love the change-up part of your body about it, too, as well, get a chance to get a little bit more aggressive.
“The best thing about it, you give everybody a chance to do what they do best. It’s off coverage. So press coverage, everybody got a position where they can make the best plays for themselves.”
Sunday, he’s going to get many chances to make those for the Seahawks, for the first extended time in five years.
This story was originally published October 10, 2025 at 2:49 PM.
