The Seattle Seahawks are a few days away from preseason Week 3. Tough roster decisions will have to be made by the time final roster cuts are made on August 29th. And, just an FYI. Seattle traditionally makes the announcement of who made the team and who didn't very late in the day on cut day.
We know a couple of players appear to be returning, so more on that in a minute. This will shake up roster plans a bit. Or more likely, the Seahawks already knew what was going to happen.
We also learned yesterday a bit more about what happened near the end of the Seahawks versus Patriots Super Bowl. At least some slightly new information about Seattle's decision to throw instead of run. Here is some other Seahawks news for your Wednesday.
Seahawks will activate Jamal Adams off PUP list
Per ESPN's Brady Henderson, the Seahawks are expected to activate Jamal Adams off the Physically Unable to Perform list on Wednesday. Once Adams is activated, he won't be able to go back on the PUP list which means he very likely will be on the 53-man active roster for Week 1. But he still might not be ready to play.
Most likely, Adams won't be ready for a couple of games into the season. He might be physically able to play, but he has missed a ton of football and still needs to work his way back into football shape. This is going to take some time. Anothing thing is where exactly Adams is going to play. Speculation has been that Adams will be more of a linebacker than a safety. If that is so then Adams will have to learn his assignments and the new spot.
Of course, Adams probably won't be a traditional linebacker but more of a hybrid safety/linebacker. What that looks like is anyone's guess. And Seattle trying to figure out how Adams might fit now this late in training camp isn't a good thing either. Still, Adams should bring some kind of elite-level pass rush once he does get all the way back. For now, head coach Pete Carroll said on Tuesday that Adams will participate in walk-throughs.
Pete Carroll talks Seahawks vs. Patriots Super Bowl with Richard Sherman
Speaking of coach Carroll, he was on the Richard Sherman Podcast this week and Carroll and Sherman spoke about many things, including the Seahawks' last offensive play of Super Bowl XLIX. Sadly, we probably all remember the play well. Seattle miraculously got the ball within the five-yard line of the Patriots with time ticking down and a chance to take a lead from 28-24 down. Instead of giving the ball to running back Marshawn Lynch, however, the Seahawks threw the ball.
We know what happened. The Patriots intercepted the pass, and their offense came back on the field and ran out the clock. The play seems to have led the players to become more and more disgruntled with the team and things began to fall apart. One of the more vocal players (of course!) about how the Seahawks shouldn't have thrown the ball was Richard Sherman.
About the play, Carroll said that New England had put their goal-line defense alignment on the field so that a pass play should have worked. Because of the personnel New England had, Carroll didn't overrule the play call that had come in from Darrell Bevell. Basically, if the play had never happened and Carroll still had a chance to overrule the play call, he wouldn't have.
And some 12s might hate that. No matter what personnel the Patriots had on the field, Seattle should have still given the ball to Marshawn Lynch, right? The Seahawks had likely three chances to score a touchdown, and Lynch likely would have scored on one of those plays. But at least Carroll's explanation makes sense and that helps a little.
Seahawks should have Jordyn Brooks back Week 1
In great news from Tuesday (on a day that otherwise brought some tidbits of bad news), linebacker Jordyn Brooks should be ready to play by Week 1. He practiced in full on Tuesday with no brace on his leg. Most reports stated that Brooks looked as he did before the injury. This is fantastic news as far as Seattle's ability to be aggressive. Brooks might not be great in coverage or in pass rush, be he is good against the run and is an excellent tackler.
It's also a bit miraculous that Brooks has been able to return so quickly from the knee injury he suffered late in the 2022 season. Most players might need a year off before returning. Brooks made it back in eight months and is in football shape. He is unlikely to play in preseason Week 3, I would assume, but the Seahawks still have two-and-a-half weeks before they start the season against the Los Angeles Rams.
Of course, Seattle got some not-great news on Tuesday as well as the team announced rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba suffered a broken bone in his wrist against the Dallas Cowboys and the injury would be operated on as early as Tuesday. Pete Carroll said the team is "optimistic" that Smith-Njigba can return by Week 1, but also put a timetable on his return of 3-4 weeks which means a Week 2 or 3 return seems more likely.
Plus, the Seahawks are really struggling with injuries at receiver. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are healthy, but the depth includes unproven Jake Bobo and Cody Thompson, among others. Let's just hope that Metcalf and Lockett don't get hurt in Week 1.