The Seattle Seahawks are heading into their preseason game with a number of frustrating injuries on both sides of the ball. Fortunately, there's plenty of runway left in the preseason, and none of these players are necessarily worries for the long-term.
Still, for a team hoping to see their roster come together early with high hopes ahead in 2023, it's tough seeing some promising young players out early in training camp.
Darrell Taylor
Darrell Taylor's sack numbers will tell an outsider one story about the Seattle Seahawks pass rush, but there's a good reason why the team has invested picks in subsequent drafts at the same position in order to stock it more fully—picks like Boye Mafe from a year ago and Derick Hall in this year's draft.
Taylor came into the league as a situational pass rusher with the potential to develop into something more but that "more" has never quite developed. Since then, the Seahawks have continued to gather bodies at the position, and while Taylor remains an important rotational piece, he's also been passed over on the depth chart too often for a player with 9.5 sacks a year ago.
These days, Taylor is dealing with a shoulder sprain which is doing him no favors in being able to stave off further competition heading into another year in the league. The Seahawks say he's making progress, but coming into the preseason injured isn't helping him make any sort of leap back up the ladder for 2023.
Devon Witherspoon
There's nothing more exciting than being able to open up your shiny new toy, and that's true for anyone aged 3 to 103. The use of such items, of course, is to engage with them, which is why it's frustrating when something calls for batteries that we don't have. It's also why the Seahawks have to be frustrated with the availability of Devon Witherspoon these days.
Witherspoon was the ultimate offseason prize for Seattle, a top-five draft choice who was the top defensive back taken in the 2023 NFL Draft. Witherspoon's game tape and pre-draft measurables served up the sort of pro prospect who could have been taken by any team at any point knowing he could slot into any defensive system and produce immediate, effective results.
The problem is that Witherspoon was a holdout for quite some time contractually up until the start of training camp. From there, he's dealt with multiple hamstring injuries that have kept him from practicing (as well as out of the first preseason game entirely).
These injuries are minor, and nothing at all within the bigger picture has shifted, but for a team ready to unveil the next great pass defender, it's tough to wait around.
Kenneth Walker III
Bonnie and Clyde. Bartles & Jaymes. Ketchup and mustard. R. Kelly and prison time.
Some things are just meant to go together, and that's the vision beheld by the Seattle Seahawks for the backfield tandem of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. The team invested heavily at the position with successive second-round picks in the 2022 and 2023 NFL Drafts respectively in order to find the ultimate fits within the offense. Unfortunately, they've not been able to see the dynamic duo in action.
Walker was a revelation last season as a rookie back who absolutely took over after largely sitting out the first quarter of a season. In 11 starts in '22, Walker had 1,050 yards and 9 touchdowns for the Seahawks and showcased the threat-from-anywhere running style that made him such a high selection in the first place.
The Seahawks added Charbonnet out of UCLA this spring in order to keep the backfield as dynamic on third downs as it is will be on first and second ones. Charbonnet's hands are exemplary and he can also move the chains on the ground, so defenses will have to remain thoughtful in the box even in more obvious passing situations.
Unfortunately Charbonnet has been out himself, but Walker hasn't been active in practice since the start of camp. A groin injury has limited him for the entire preseason and that will keep him out of games as well. While long-term he could be just fine, it's made for a frustrating preseason at the whole position.
Dareke Young
The Seahawks certainly aren't short on pass catchers within this offense this season, and Dareke Young isn't a shoo-in for the active roster if healthy as it is. That said, Young showcased some really intriguing potential last year for Seattle and it's frustrating to see a likely sports hernia keeping him from being able to state his case for a spot on the roster for a second consecutive year.
If you missed Young's journey last year, the Lenoir Rhyne product was so impressive in pre-draft season last year that the Seahawks stepped up in the seventh round to secure his long-term potential. Then when given the chance to compete, he beat out others favored to make the team in order to land a spot on the 53-man roster.
A 6'2, 220 lb. receiver, Young supplied the Seahawks with a hybrid weapon on offense who could even line up as a fullback if needed. Young was never going to have a major place in an offensive game plan but the potential showed as a rookie to give looks in the backfield or lined up wide made for an interesting acquisition.
Given a year in the system, Young would have been a nice subplot to follow but the hernia has him on the outside looking at a position with numerous promising young options for '23 and beyond including Jake Bobo and Matt Landers.