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Brady Henderson, ESPN
RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks will be without at least three key defenders Thursday night after ruling out Pro Bowl cornerback Riq Woolen, outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu and defensive tackle Byron Murphy II for their NFC West showdown with the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field.
Another defensive starter, Pro Bowl safety Julian Love, is listed as questionable.
Coach Mike Macdonald said at the start of the week that Nwosu (thigh) would not play and that Murphy (hamstring) was probably out, as well, but Woolen’s status was less clear because of the ankle injury that knocked him out of Seattle’s loss Sunday to the New York Giants.
“We’ll see next week, but he looks good right now,” Macdonald said Wednesday. “He’s moving around all right. He’s just not ready to go this game.”
Tre Brown, who struggled against the Giants, is Seattle’s third cornerback behind Woolen and fellow Pro Bowl player Devon Witherspoon. The team also has veteran Artie Burns on its practice squad and rookie Nehemiah Pritchett on its 53-man roster.
Macdonald confirmed Nwosu was headed to injured reserve and indicated he was expected to be sidelined for more than the minimum of four games. Nwosu sat out the final 11 games of last season because of a torn pectoral muscle and the first four games of this season because of an MCL sprain. He made his 2024 debut against the Giants but went down again on his 20th snap.
“We think there’s a really good chance to get him back by the end of the season,” Macdonald said. “We’re with him right now. He needs our support. The guy’s gone through a tough time. He’s going to battle his tail off. He’s going to be back better than ever, but it’s just unfortunate for him. He’s a guy that we lean on as a team and he’s a leader on our defense and our football team. But he has an opportunity to come back and be healthy and be fresh for the end-of-the-season run.”
The Seahawks are expected to have their other two top outside linebackers available Thursday. Boye Mafe (knee) and Derick Hall (foot) are questionable, but Macdonald said he’s confident they’ll play. Mafe sat out the past two games, and Hall, who leads Seattle with 5.0 sacks, went down late against the Giants.
Macdonald said Love (hamstring) would probably be a game-time decision.
Including the playoffs, the Seahawks have lost five straight to San Francisco dating to the start of the 2022 season. The 49ers have outscored them 148-72 in that span.
