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Brady Henderson, ESPN
RENTON, Wash. — While the Seattle Seahawks remain uncertain as to when rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon will be available coming off his hamstring injury, coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday that their other first-round pick, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, is expected to play in Sunday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
Smith-Njigba, the 20th overall pick and the first receiver selected in April’s NFL Draft, had surgery two weeks ago to repair a fracture in his left wrist. He returned to practice last Tuesday and was listed as a full participant Wednesday on the Seahawks’ first injury report of the season. During the warmup period of Seahawks practices — which is all that reporters who cover the team are allowed to view at this point — Smith-Njigba has been seen with his left wrist heavily wrapped.
If he’s experienced any issues in practice related to the injury, he hasn’t mentioned it to Carroll.
“He hasn’t said a peep about it, nothing,” Carroll said. “He’s fine. It’s been a remarkable mentality that he’s brought to it. It’s better than most guys that you see. He’s not hesitating to do everything throughout the game plan and the preparation and all of that.”
Smith-Njigba was hurt in the Seahawks’ Aug. 19 preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, when he used his left hand to brace himself while being tackled at the end of a 48-yard reception. He traveled to Philadelphia for surgery three days later and was back on the practice field seven days after that.
After routinely drawing praise during the spring and first few weeks of training camp for his route-running and sure hands, that praise has since shifted to how Smith-Njigba has handled his recovery.
“It just shows his commitment,” receiver DK Metcalf said. “I knew he was always going to play Week 1, just from talking to him around the locker room. He’s always a competitive dude who always wants to be out there on the field competing. I know he hated just watching practice the few days he had to sit out. It’s just good to have him back, but I think his mindset is perfect for coming back and playing Week 1.”
Witherspoon, the fifth overall pick and first cornerback off the board, missed most of training camp and all three preseason games after re-injuring his left hamstring on Aug. 7. He returned to practice on Monday, albeit for what Carroll said was only a few plays.
“He’ll go today and we’ll see how he does,” Carroll said.
The Seahawks later listed Witherspoon as a limited participant.
Witherspoon, the highest draft pick Seattle has made under Carroll and general manager John Schneider, was limited in the spring because of an injury to the same hamstring. He also missed the first two days of training camp amid an unsuccessful holdout related to the payment schedule of his $21.17 million signing bonus.
Before his second hamstring injury, Witherspoon was competing with Mike Jackson and Tre Brown at left cornerback as well as with Coby Bryant at nickelback. Carroll was asked Wednesday whether all the time Witherspoon has missed has made it hard to gauge where he’s best suited to play.
“No, I don’t have any problem with that,” Carroll said. “It’s just, is he suited to play? Physically, can he endure and all that. It’s a hammy that’s had two shots at it over the last few months and stuff, so we’ve got to be careful with it and make sure that we get him back and he can trust that he can go. He’s a really fired-up kid. He is not going to hold back. He’s not going to measure how he goes, so we’ve got to make sure that he’s right and so we’ll see how the week goes and we’ll just determine it later on.”
Carroll wouldn’t comment on whether the Jackson-Brown competition to start at left cornerback opposite Riq Woolen has been settled.
“You’ve got to wait and see,” Carroll said. “Those guys have really battled the whole time. They’ve done great.”
In other Seahawks injury news, Carroll said outside linebacker Darrell Taylor is “ready to go” after missing most of training camp with a shoulder injury. Outside linebacker Derick Hall and defensive end Mike Morris, whom Seattle chose in the second and fifth rounds, respectively, are also back at practice after missing time with shoulder injuries of their own. All three were listed as limited in Wednesday’s practice.
“Today will be important to see them again, but Mike had a really good Monday and Derick was a little bit limited on Monday,” Carroll said. “We’ll see how he does today, but those guys are working to see if they can find their way back in.”
Running back Kenny McIntosh, Seattle’s seventh-round pick, is still not practicing because of the knee injury he suffered early in camp. Carroll said the plan is for strong safety Jamal Adams to begin practicing next week. Adams, who’s coming off a torn quad tendon from last season’s opener, has only taken part in walk-throughs since he was activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list on Aug. 24.
“I was with Jamal today this morning and he’s talking about how close it’s getting, how much he’s ready to get rolling,” Carroll said. “But yet there’s still a process to it, so we’re not quite there yet but he’s really positive. He’s in maybe the strongest and best shape he’s ever been in because he’s worked so hard throughout this process and since he’s been here, he’s just been stellar about going for it and pushing it. So he’s really positive and we’ve got to just wait it out and be patient.”
Source: www.espn.com