4 Seattle Seahawks who likely wish they could have a re-do on 2023

Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen

Riq Woolen had an important year while also having a poor one. He changed the way he wanted his name on the roster from Tariq to Riq. Maybe he felt he had earned enough respect from his excellent 2022 season to make some moves of his own. That is probably correct as far as his name goes; people can be called whatever they wish, of course.

But Woolen had not proven in one season that he would be great for the rest of his career. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie but during his second season, he was benched. And for reasons other than Woolen being injured, which he was in minicamp prior to the season beginning. That injury appeared to affect Woolen mentally as much as it did physically.

During the 2022 season, Woolen did not seem to mind unleashing his 6'4" frame on a ball carrier and inducing a lot of punishment. Woolen was fantastic in coverage but he knew his assignments well in run support and helped keep the run inside (while Seattle was bad against the run in 2022 as well that was because the middle of the line was bad, and not Woolen's fault).

But in 2023, Woolen appeared to have no interest in keeping containment against the run and failed to be aggressive in run support. This is what got him benched: His seeming unwillingness to do his job in any other area but trying to bat passes down. That needs to be consistently fixed in 2024 or Woolen might find himself permanently benched.