Riq Woolen’s starting status up in the air after struggles

Published 9:30 am Friday, September 12, 2025

RENTON, Wash. — Mike Macdonald hinted at a potential lineup change earlier this week, and the Seattle Seahawks head coach reiterated that sentiment Wednesday when asked whether cornerback Riq Woolen will start against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

“We’ll see,” Macdonald said.

A starter since his rookie year in 2022 (when he was an original-ballot Pro Bowler), Woolen has been demoted twice in as many years, by two different coaching staffs. He entered this season, the final year of his rookie contract, as an every-down starter. But Woolen’s job is once again in question after he was on the wrong end of two critical plays in Seattle’s 17-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Woolen played 38 coverage snaps against the 49ers. He was targeted four times and allowed three catches for 73 yards, all in the fourth quarter. Woolen gave up a 24-yard reception to wide receiver Ricky Pearsall on an out-breaking route with 13:35 left to play (he was also flagged for illegal hands to the face on that play, but the penalty was declined). San Francisco ended that drive with only a field goal, in part because Woolen made a touchdown-saving knockdown on a pass meant for Pearsall on second-and-goal from the 9.

On the final defensive series, Woolen allowed a 45-yard reception against Pearsall on a double move up the sideline. Then he misplayed a 50-50 ball in the end zone on third-and-3 from the 4-yard line, allowing tight end Jake Tonges to catch the game-winning touchdown with 1:44 remaining.

Woolen said he “could have played the ball better” on Pearsall’s 45-yard reception.

“I ran the route for him, and I knew what type of route it was,” Woolen said Wednesday. “I just gotta execute and attack the ball and don’t lose track of the ball.”

As for the Tonges catch, Woolen said: “I gotta attack the ball. That’s pretty much it.”

Woolen has always played exclusively on the outside regardless of the personnel grouping. In Macdonald’s scheme, Woolen plays opposite Devon Witherspoon when Seattle deploys its base defense or its “big nickel” package with rookie Nick Emmanwori. In its normal nickel package, Witherspoon moves inside, and Woolen plays opposite Josh Jobe, who was showered with praise by his head coach this week.

Jobe played 33 coverage snaps and allowed just one reception for 1 yard on five targets as the nearest defender in coverage. He also intercepted Purdy on a long ball intended for Pearsall in the fourth quarter. On Monday, Macdonald interrupted a question about Jobe’s performance and Week 1 stats to add, “And he had a pick.”

“He’s always going to be a big part of the game plan,” Macdonald said. “He’s competing for more snaps, and I thought he played a tremendous football game. He played physical, played smart, played disciplined and finished his plays right.”

Macdonald later added, “You go out and you produce, why would we not play you?”

Macdonald has long been a fan of the 27-year-old Jobe, who spent the first six games of last season on the practice squad. He made his first start in Week 7 against Atlanta as an injury replacement and ended up permanently replacing Tre Brown in the lineup. Beyond Jobe’s coverage skills and physicality, the attribute Macdonald admires most is his work ethic.

“I love telling the story because this time last year, he wasn’t playing for us,” Macdonald said. “This is a guy that has come in and really bought into the process. The details matter for him, and he does it every day. There’s a consistency there that you respect. He’s earned these opportunities, which is really cool.

“I mean, if you were the coach of a team, wouldn’t you want it to work like that? Guys coming in and earning their opportunities, developing, growing as players, as people? That’s what he has done.”

In response to Macdonald’s “we’ll see” remark, Woolen said: “He’s the head man, so whatever he say goes. I’m not going to go against it. Other than that, I can just continue to be Riq and continue to be the great player that I have been.”

Seattle doesn’t have a true backup “big nickel” to replace Emmanwori, whose high-ankle sprain might land him on injured reserve, meaning he’d miss at least four games. Macdonald said they’ll make that determination later this week, depending on how Emmanwori’s ankle feels.

When Emmanwori went down in the first quarter against San Francisco, Macdonald leaned more on his true nickel package with Witherspoon inside, even against heavy personnel. Seattle can get by playing Witherspoon against 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) because the two-time Pro Bowler is able to punch above his weight. Pittsburgh used 12 personnel on a league-high 53.7 percent of its snaps in Week 1, according to TruMedia.

If Seattle plans to match 12 personnel with nickel on Sunday, then the “starter” at cornerback might not matter much, since both Woolen and Jobe could see the field most of the game. Complicating matters, Witherspoon did not participate in Wednesday’s practice due to a knee injury. If he’s unable to play Sunday, sitting Woolen would theoretically become less feasible.

If all Seattle’s cornerbacks are healthy, Seattle could bench Woolen and promote Shaquill Griffin, Nehemiah Pritchett or even Derion Kendrick, who was claimed via waivers after cutdown day and has experience playing outside and inside. In the context of simply moving behind Jobe on the depth chart, Woolen was asked whether it would matter if he were technically the starter on Sunday.

“It just depends because I know Coach wants to have his best players out there,” Woolen said. “At the same time, that can change week in and week out (depending) on what type of defensive personnel we’re going to have because offenses change each and every week.”