Riq Woolen’s Wild Ride Lands at Super Bowl Sunday - and Possibly His Seahawks Finale
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Riq Woolen’s journey through this NFL season has been nothing short of a rollercoaster - the kind that tosses you upside down, slams you sideways, and then drops you into the biggest game of your life.
From Pro Bowl rookie to midseason benching, trade rumors, and a near-disastrous penalty in the NFC Championship Game, Woolen’s 2025 campaign has had it all. And now, it all comes to a head on Sunday, when the Seahawks face off against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
“You can’t tuck your tail, you can’t be hiding from it, because that’s part of the competition,” Woolen said Thursday, standing in front of a sea of reporters with the same confidence he brings to the field.
This game isn’t just a shot at a ring - it could be a turning point in Woolen’s career. The 26-year-old cornerback is set to hit unrestricted free agency after the season, and his play on Sunday could very well shape what comes next.
He’s shown flashes of elite potential, and that kind of upside is going to draw attention across the league. But the Seahawks have some tough decisions to make.
Seattle already has another star corner in Devon Witherspoon, the fifth-overall pick from the 2023 draft. Witherspoon has been everything the Seahawks hoped for - a Pro Bowler in each of his first three seasons and a second-team All-Pro this year.
He’s eligible for a new deal this offseason, and you don’t need a calculator to know it won’t come cheap. Paying top dollar to two corners?
That’s a luxury most teams can’t afford.
Woolen knows all of this. He’s not blind to the stakes.
“I feel like I’ve played so well that I’ve shown that I am one of the best corners in this league,” he said. “Wherever God has for me after this season, I know he’s been doing the greatest job ever having me here on my team, having me be a better person, especially because of all the stuff I’ve been through during the season. Wherever lays for me ahead after the Super Bowl, I know God will put me in the right position.”
Woolen burst onto the scene as a rookie, leading the NFL with six interceptions and earning a Pro Bowl nod. But since then, the road’s been bumpier.
He’s battled inconsistency, lost his starting job at times, and - earlier this season - was reportedly involved in trade talks. Then came the NFC Championship Game, and a moment that could’ve defined his Seahawks legacy in the worst way.
Late in the third quarter against the Rams, Woolen made a big stop on third down. But instead of heading to the sideline, he jawed with the Rams bench - and drew a personal foul.
The penalty extended the drive, and a few plays later, he gave up a touchdown to Puka Nacua. Suddenly, a comfortable lead was a one-possession game.
The Seahawks held on for a 31-27 win, but it was a moment that could’ve flipped the script on their season - and Woolen’s career in Seattle.
The penalty didn’t sit well with rookie safety Nick Emmanwori, who confronted Woolen on the sideline. Things got heated enough that teammates had to step in.
Looking back, both players say it was a moment of growth - not division.
“I think looking back to that, I think it made us closer a little bit honestly,” Emmanwori said. “We were already super close, so we already had the ability to have those conversations and uncomfortable confrontations on the sideline.
Even if it was him coming to me or me coming to him, or somebody else coming to somebody else. I think us doing that just solidifies what type of team we are and the brotherhood that we have.
“He knows he was wrong for that, he knew he messed up, so nobody else had to tell him.”
Woolen echoed that sentiment.
“It’s because we know each other so well. We know that whenever we have those types of moments, it’s not coming from a bad place.
Everybody here is so tight. We’re like a family.”
To his credit, Woolen bounced back. Later in the game, he had tight coverage on a deep post route to Konata Mumpfield, forcing an incompletion on a ball that could’ve gone for six. The Rams’ drive stalled out at Seattle’s 6-yard line after a fourth-down miss, a sequence that turned out to be one of the most important defensive stands of the game.
“That whole sequence just summarizes the life of a cornerback,” Woolen said. “But also it just shows that you got to be smarter too, because when you think about it, I made a great a play on third-and-long.
We would have been off the field. We already had a long series.
We’re all tired, I’m tired. And you made a play, and in those moments you got to be able to celebrate with your teammates.”
For Woolen, Sunday is about more than redemption. It’s about showing he belongs on the game’s biggest stage - and reminding everyone why he was once seen as one of the league’s brightest young corners. The mistakes, the growth, the bounce-back - it’s all part of the story.
And now, with the Super Bowl looming and his future in Seattle uncertain, Woolen has one more chance to write the next chapter.