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Brady Henderson, ESPN
RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks activated safety Jamal Adams off the physically unable to perform list Thursday, a significant step in his return from surgery to repair a torn quad tendon.
Adams is not ready to practice yet, but coming off PUP allows him to participate in the slower paced morning walk-throughs. The Seahawks gradually brought back cornerback Riq Woolen and linebacker Jordyn Brooks in similar fashion this summer.
“It’s a good step for him … as he’s preparing to get back,” coach Pete Carroll said of Adams. “We look at these weeks, they go by quickly now, and if he would continue to stay on PUP, he wouldn’t be able to get any of our football work. So, he’ll jump into the routine like we’ve been doing with our guys like walk-throughs and things like that, so he can start to break the huddle with the fellas and make the calls and get aligned and make the adjustments and all that and get his mind rolling in that direction.”
Woolen and Brooks are both expected to be ready by the Seahawks’ Sept. 10 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, but Adams’ status for that game is still in question. Carroll said there’s no sense of pressure to get him back by then. With Adams coming off his injury on the heels of a down season in 2021, the Seahawks signed former New York Giants starter Julian Love to a two-year, $12 million deal in March as a short-term fill-in option and a potential long-term replacement.
“We’re working with him and the docs and the trainers and all that,” Carroll said of Adams. “That’s what’s important to me. I don’t care when it is. It’s just when he gets back. I want him to feel right and confident and believe in the process that got him there, and we’re not going to rush him at all.”
Adams, acquired in a blockbuster trade with the New York Jets in 2020, set a single season record for a defensive back with 9.5 sacks in 12 games that year. He didn’t record a sack in 2021 before his season ended in December because of a torn shoulder labrum. He missed almost all of last season after going down in the first half of the opener.
“He’s worked really hard,” Carroll said. “Again, I tell you guys, if you watched him work out you would never know there was anything wrong. But he’s still trying to make his strengths and get everything up to max. We’re going to do it perfectly. We’re going to wait it out and make sure that we really take care of him.”
Carroll did not provide any further clarity on whether wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Dareke Young will be ready by Week 1. Smith-Njigba, the 20th overall pick this year, had surgery earlier this week to repair a wrist fracture.
“I haven’t heard any word since the surgery other than that what they initially said that everything went great,” Carroll said of Smith-Njigba on Thursday. “They showed us the pictures and all that kind of stuff, so we saw that. It’s an elaborate surgery for such a small crack … but it’s going to be so safe. We’re really pleased with it and so is he.”
Young left town earlier this week to see a specialist who would determine whether he needs surgery for a groin injury. Carroll said Young has not returned to the team and that he hadn’t heard back on whether the receiver was having surgery.
Cody Thompson, who’s fighting for one of the final receiver spots, remains out with a shoulder injury and isn’t expected to play in the Seahawks’ preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers, per Carroll.
Cornerback Devon Witherspoon is on track to get back to practice next week, per Carroll. Witherspoon, the team’s 2023 fifth overall pick, re-injured his hamstring Aug. 7 and returned to walk-throughs earlier this week.