Seahawks Make Roster Move Amid Return of Pro Bowl CB Tariq Woolen

The Seattle Seahawks shared fantastic news ahead of Day 9 of training camp, revealing cornerback Tariq Woolen had passed his physical and was returning to practice.

Woolen, the Seahawks’ fifth-round pick from the 2022 NFL draft, thrived in his rookie season, finishing third in voting for the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, so it was concerning when he was mysteriously absent when OTAs kicked off in May.

The 24-year-old suffered a knee injury “while walking on the practice field,” ESPN‘s Adam Schefter and Brady Henderson reported. Woolen, who tied the NFL’s lead for most interceptions recorded by a rookie (6) last season, must’ve really hurt himself because he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on May 23.

Woolen has been on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list ever since, but he put on his helmet for the first time on Sunday, August 6. While there’s heavy competition at the cornerback position, and Woolen only participated in individual drills on Sunday, head coach Pete Carroll said the Pro Bowler’s starting job is safe.

Seahawks reporter John Boyle tweeted, “While the #Seahawks will ease Riq Woolen back into action, Carroll made it clear what his role will be when he fully returns to a deep CB group: “He’s a starter for us. He’s been a starter and he earned it, he did a great job last year.”

During a press conference last Thursday, Carroll had sounded non-committal regarding Woolen’s return.

“He gets closer every day,” Carroll said. “He’s running really hard. All of our PUP guys are making positive progress. There hasn’t been any setback for any of the guys. It’s just a matter of when they can maintain a really high level, speed-wise and explosion-wise, over a long period of time before we cut them loose. Now they’re ok. They’re healed now. Now is getting them into football shape and guaranteeing that before we put them out there.”

Only four players remain on the PUP list for the Seahawks: safety Jamal Adams, linebacker Jordyn Brooks, and defensive tackles Bryan Mone and Austin Faoliu.

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Pete Carroll Said Tariq Woolen’s Workouts Have Been ‘Extraordinary’

“It’s great to get him back,” Carroll said of Woolen on Sunday, per Seahawks.com. “His workouts have been extraordinary… We’re still going to take care of him and make sure that we get him back to the football movements and the football kind of changes in the direction and things in more competitive situations.”

“He’ll be real quiet this week, we won’t give him a lot of work, but we’re stressing him in the workouts, in the rehab work, to make sure that he’s getting there. He feels great, he’s really confident, and we’re going to make him be begging to get back out there.”

With Woolen out, Tre Brown and Mike Jackson have been taking first-ream reps at the outside corners while the Seahawks No. 5 overall pick from the 2023 NFL Draft, Devon Witherspoon, has been practicing in the nickel slot. Last season’s primary nickel, Coby Bryant, has been taking reps at safety. With Woolen back, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the defense shakes out.

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Tariq Woolen Remained Positive Throughout His Recovery Process

The fact that Woolen hurt his knee while simply “walking,” according to the report, caused a stir on X, formerly known as Twitter, as many people struggled to believe that’s how he went down. However, Carroll told reporters on June 1, that it was indeed an “unusual occurrence” and detailed what happened.

“He didn’t have a play where he got hurt. He was in between plays getting ready to get lined up and he felt something. It wasn’t bad, then before the play started he sat down and felt his knee (and) something was wrong.”

“Fortunately, everything went great,” Carroll said of Woolen’s surgery. “You see him, he’s getting around terrific already. His attitude has been great. He never really accepted it when it happened. It was a weird occurrence he just took it in stride and [has] been really positive about it.”

Following his surgery, the UTSA alum posted a video on his Instagram Stories that showed his No. 1 supporter, Nola Woolen, by his side at the Houston hospital. He captioned the post with several laugh/cry face emojis and wrote, “Moms to the rescue.”

Woolen also shared a post-surgery message, thanking fans for their support. He posted a photo on his Instagram Stories that showed him standing up with a bandage around his knee. “I’m fine and surgery was smooth!!! Appreciate the love.”

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