Seahawks Injury Updates: Status of Jordyn Brooks, Jamal Adams?
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Per usual protocol when an NFL season comes to an end, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll provided updates on numerous injured players in his final press conference on Monday.
Along with providing a mixed report on safety Jamal Adams' recovery from a torn quad tendon, Carroll indicated linebacker Jordyn Brooks, who tore his ACL in a Week 17 win over the Jets last month, would undergo knee surgery to repair the injury on January 19. While he's holding out hope the standout defender will make a swift recovery and be ready for the start of next season, he acknowledged that may not be realistic given how late the injury happened.
“We are going to count on him to be ready to go, but I am saying that in all optimism because they haven’t gone in and taken a look at what it looks like yet," Carroll said of Brooks. "It’s a long recovery, it’s late in the year, it’s a hard race against time for him to make it, but he’s such a well-conditioned guy, he’s such a good worker, his mentality is so strong, so I think he will get as much out of it as he can."
The timing of Brooks' injury creates an interesting dilemma for the Seahawks. The former first round pick out of Texas Tech, who broke a franchise record with 184 tackles in 2021, will be entering his fourth season and the front office will have to decide whether or not to pick up his fifth-year option by the deadline in May.
Prior to picking up the option on tight end Noah Fant, who wasn't drafted originally by Seattle and came over as part of the Russell Wilson trade, general manager John Schneider had never exercised the extra year for a previous first round pick since the mechanism came into existence in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement.
Away from Adams and Brooks, Carroll provided insight on several other injured Seahawks:
Rashaad Penny
Coming back from a fractured ankle that cost him Seattle's final 12 games and set to be a free agent in March, Penny had aspirations for returning if the team made a deep playoff run. Encouraged by his recovery, Carroll sounded interested in bringing back the explosive runner to complement Ken Walker III if healthy.
“He’s making really good progress. He was hoping that if we went deep into the playoffs that he would have a chance. That’s how positive he was about it. The ankle repair that he had was intricate. The high ankle thing where they are tying stuff together and they got some really cool technology that makes him stable and ready to come back. He feels pretty good about it. He’ll be back for camp and all that if we get him back up. He should have a good solid recovery.”
In five NFL seasons, Penny has rushed for 1,918 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Unfortunately, while he has been quite productive when healthy, injuries have cost him 42 regular season games and durability has been a major problem for the ex-San Diego State star.
Will Dissly
Injured in a Week 15 loss to the Chiefs, Dissly suffered what Carroll called a "rare" fibula injury and landed on injured reserve, missing the Seahawks final three games. Though he appears to be making progress, the team won't know if he will need surgery to repair the injury or if it will heal on its own until a few months down the road.
"This is one that we don’t know. What they are doing right now is that they are waiting to see how he heals in regard to surgery," Carroll said. "Does he need surgery or not? We don’t know that yet. I think they said that it was going to be a couple of months, two or three months of rehab to see if it just heals up so they don’t have to go in and do something. We never had the injury before. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s in an unusual place and it’s an unusual return because we don’t have the background on it. We will just wait and see. He’s doing well, he’s making progress, and is feeling more comfortably. He’s not on crutches and stuff. He’s really returning, but we won’t know for a while.”
On the heels of signing a three-year, $24 million contract, Dissly set career-highs with with 34 receptions for 349 yards and scored three touchdowns while remaining a key cog for Seattle's run game as an in-line blocking tight end. Despite this latest injury, he played in at least 15 games for a third straight season.
Bryan Mone
While Carroll had mostly positive updates on Penny and Dissly, Mone's prognosis seems a bit more ominous as he begins to work back from a torn ACL suffered in a Week 15 loss to San Francisco. Complications discovered during reconstructive knee surgery likely will extend his timeline for return, putting his status for the start of the upcoming season in question.
“He had a difficult surgery. We have to wait and see," Carroll said. "There was more stuff going on than we thought. He had some old stuff in there probably that was a part of that. He’s going to have a good battle here to get back. I don’t know what the timeframe is on it. It’s going to take a while.”
Like Dissly, Mone signed a new multi-year contract before the start of the 2022 season. Splitting reps with veteran Al Woods at nose tackle, he recorded 25 tackles and two tackles for loss in 13 games for the Seahawks this season.
Tyreke Smith
Drafted in the fifth round out of Ohio State, Smith's rookie season ended before it could begin due to a lingering hip injury that landed him on injured reserve amid training camp. Much like teammate Darrell Taylor, who also missed his entire rookie season recovering from leg surgery, he looks primed to make a strong bounce back and Carroll expects him to contribute in the edge rushing rotation in 2023.
“Yes, he should be able to be fully recovered, ready to go, and all that. We didn’t get anything done this year, but good hopes for the future. He’s an active football player. He can be a factor for us.”
Alton Robinson
Along with Smith hoping to make his long-awaited debut next season, the Seahawks will be keeping fingers crossed Robinson will be available after a PCL injury in his knee forced him to miss the entire 2022 campaign. Unfortunately, Carroll didn't have much of an update on his status and suggested he's still a ways away from being able to play again due to complications with the injury.
“There are some issues with his return. It’s just taking him a while. I don’t have the specifics on it, but I know it has been a struggle. I don’t have a good update for you, but he’s still in process and he’s a ways from getting back to full speed.”
Ben Burr-Kirven
Now two years removed from his last regular season snap after a difficult return from a torn ACL, Burr-Kirven has endured through multiple surgeries and continued to work in the weight room for the Seahawks with hopes of returning to the field in 2023. With Brooks out indefinitely, there may be a place for him to compete for a roster spot, but he has to prove to Carroll and the coaching staff he's fully recovered and healthy enough to play again.
“He’s in a little bit of an experimental mode. The surgeries that he has had and the process he is going through, he is making progress. He’s always in the weight room with us. He’s always here working with a tremendous mentality. The nerve issues, really intricate stuff going on, so he’s had to have a really good attitude about it to stay in the fight and he is. He’s planning on getting back out there. So, we are going to give him every chance. If he can do it, this is going to be the place that he does it. We’ll see what happens. He’s upbeat. He’s positive. He’s made improvements in an area that sometimes you don’t make any. The scientifics are a part of this challenge and we’ll see how it goes with high hopes.”
Prior to injuring his knee in the preseason two years ago, Burr-Kirven played in 32 games and produced 16 tackles. Primarily playing special teams, he did see limited action on defense as a rookie and produced a tackle for loss.
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