Jadarian Price still won’t get his Seahawks preseason debut this weekend, and the team doesn’t sound tempted to change course anytime soon.
Seattle is holding the rookie running back out of Sunday night’s game in Nashville against the Titans, and he also won’t play in Friday’s preseason finale at Kansas City. The Seahawks have seen enough from Price’s burst, his sharp cuts in the outside-zone game and his ability to catch the ball to decide he’s too important to expose in games that don’t count.
That caution makes even more sense with the backfield already dealing with injuries this preseason. Price also missed a week this month with what Mike Macdonald described only as “upper-leg soreness.”
Macdonald made clear Friday that the team is thinking long term, not about squeezing extra preseason snaps out of its first-round pick.
“He’s ramping back,” Macdonald said Friday. “It’s not responsible to give him a thousand carries after being down for a minute.
“But I’m eager to watch the tape. I was looking forward to seeing him play (Friday).”
The Seahawks’ starters on both sides are mostly staying parked until Sept. 9, when Seattle opens the regular season against the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl 60 rematch at Lumen Field. That means Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sam Darnold, Devon Witherspoon, Leonard Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence and Ernest Jones are all expected to sit Sunday night.
At quarterback, Drew Lock is expected to start and handle the first half in Tennessee, with Jalen Milroe taking over after that. Seattle isn’t planning to bounce both passers in and out the way it did last week in a 17-7 loss to Dallas that left Macdonald unhappy.
With Price and most of the stars out, the biggest thing to watch in Nashville is the cornerback battle.
The Seahawks are trying to settle the third-corner spot, a role that has real weight in Macdonald’s nickel and dime looks because it functions like a starting job in this defense. Noah Igbinoghene and 2024 fifth-round pick Nehemiah Pritchett are the two names rotating through nickel against Tennessee’s starting offense in the first half, and whoever looks better Sunday should have the edge.
That race still comes with an asterisk, though, because Trevon Diggs is now in the mix. The former All-Pro cornerback practiced with Seattle for the first time Friday after signing this past week.
He was limited to position work and then watched the rest of the scrimmaging without pads. It was his first practice in 7 1/2 months, dating back to the end of last season.
Diggs said “maybe” he’ll be in football condition enough to play Friday’s preseason finale at Kansas City. He turns 28, and he hasn’t finished a full season since 2022 after dealing with multiple major injuries, including a knee issue.
Still, Macdonald, defensive coordinator Aden Durde and defensive-backs coach Karl Scott view Diggs as a clean fit for the match-coverage style they want from outside corners. If he gets healthy, it could push Witherspoon back inside to nickel, where Macdonald can use him as a blitzer and get him involved all over the field.
There’s another possible cornerback addition on the horizon, too. The Seahawks are expected to sign Terrion Arnold within the next week, possibly before the Kansas City game. Seattle agreed to sign the former Detroit first-round pick nine days ago, and the NFL is expected to place him on the commissioner’s exempt list once he joins the team.
Arnold is facing eight felony charges tied to an alleged kidnapping and burglary in Tampa, Florida, in February. He was arrested in June and released by the Lions soon after. His next in-person court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 5 in Tampa, the day after Seattle’s fourth game, at home against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Seahawks’ hope is that Arnold could be available by mid- to late season. Signing him now would also keep his rights with Seattle for 2027, either as a restricted free agent or, if he doesn’t play in 2026, as an exclusive-rights free agent.
Like Diggs, Arnold profiles as an outside corner who fits the way Macdonald wants his secondary to play. And if he eventually gets on the field, Witherspoon could slide back to nickel again.
For now, though, Seattle may have to lean on a stop-gap arrangement with Witherspoon outside and Igbinoghene in the slot. Dan Quinn, now the Commanders’ head coach and formerly Seattle’s defensive coordinator, turned Igbinoghene into a starting nickel in 2023 after the ex-Miami first-round pick had spent his early NFL seasons strictly outside.
If Pritchett can win the job Sunday night by tightening up his tackling, he’d likely start outside with Witherspoon moving inside to nickel to open the season.
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