Seahawks' Pete Carroll Provides 'Optimistic' Injury Update for Jamal Adams, Jordyn Brooks
Coming off of severe leg injuries, two of the Seattle Seahawks most important pieces on defense may be ahead of schedule in regards to readiness for the 2023 season.
Speaking with reporters at the VMAC on Wednesday with a little over a week until the 2023 NFL Draft, coach Pete Carroll provided encouraging updates on the status of linebacker Jordyn Brooks and safety Jamal Adams, who underwent surgeries to repair a torn ACL and torn quad tendon respectively. Though the organization will remain cautious with them, the two players appear to be trending ahead of schedule with an eye on returning for training camp.
"They're doing well. The progress is being made," Carroll said of Adams and Brooks. "This week, we're getting with them again to make sure they're making progress. But everything is going fine so far, and very optimistic on their sides, they really think that they'll make it and so we'll hold a good thought."
Continuing to struggle to stay healthy, Adams went down early in the second quarter of Seattle's season-opening win over Denver, leaving the field on a cart. He quickly was diagnosed with a torn quad tendon and underwent surgery the following week, landing on season-ending injured reserve for the second straight year.
Adams, who signed a four-year extension worth $70 million before the start of the 2021 season, has been active on social media of late, posting videos on Twitter and Instagram showcasing his steady progress as he works his way back to the field.
The Seahawks will hold out hope that Adams, who underwent surgery seven months ago with his latest setback after dealing with shoulder and finger issues previously, will be able to round back into form as one of the NFL's most versatile secondary weapons in their 3-4 defense. When healthy in 2020, he registered a league-record 9.5 sacks as a defensive back, garnering Second-Team All-Pro honors.
Proactive adding extra talent in case Adams takes a bit of time to get back in the swing of things, Seattle did sign safety Julian Love in free agency. As he has stated several times since the signing became official last month, Carroll expects the versatile newcomer to fit in seamlessly and play frequent snaps alongside Adams and Quandre Diggs with a high usage of three-safety sets.
"Jamal has been such a dynamic player in the variables that he brings," he said. "He's opened us up and we're wide open to some different things that we can do. Julian's a very flexible football player. You guys might forget, but Quandre was was of nickel coming up and he's got all of that background too, so it's going to be hard to tell what we're doing with these guys for a while until we'll get zeroed in... But we're really excited about the chance to put it all together."
As for Brooks, the fourth-year linebacker suffered his knee injury far later in the season, suffering a non-contact torn ACL in a Week 17 win over the Jets in December. Forced to wait until swelling went down, he didn't undergo surgery until late January, putting him up against the calendar to be ready in time for the start of the 2023 season for an injury that typically takes at least nine months to come back from.
Only three months after undergoing the procedure, however, Brooks already has progressed to light work on agility ladders, a positive sign with a long road still ahead of him. Though the Seahawks signed insurance in veterans Bobby Wagner and Devin Bush during free agency in case he missed time to open the start of next season, Carroll seemed giddy about utilizing all three players from the outset.
"We're gonna do a great job of that," Carroll said. "It's gonna be awesome. We've got all all kinds of plans and we have some variables to deal with that are really positive we've got guys with a lot of flexibility. And we love that we're able to move some guys around."
In additional injury news, Carroll indicated tight end Will Dissly didn't need surgery to help recover from a rare fracture in his upper ankle/knee that cost him the final three games of the 2022 season. After avoiding going under the knife, he's "doing really well" and expected to be ready for Seattle's offseason OTA practices, mandatory minicamp, and training camp.
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