RENTON — After Devon Witherspoon's breakout game on Oct. 2 against the Giants that included a game-clinching, 97-yard pick-six, coach Pete Carroll said he wondered how the Seahawks rookie cornerback would handle the inevitable spotlight that would come his way.
"I'm anxious to see how he responds to all of the attention," Carroll said the following week. "We'll see."
It appears as if Carroll needn't have worried.
Witherspoon backed up that game with three more strong performances that were enough to earn him NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month honors Thursday.
Witherspoon became the seventh Seahawk to earn that honor. The others are Walter Jones, Rocky Bernard, Lofa Tatupu, Russell Wilson, Riq Woolen and Kenneth Walker III, the latter two earning it in the same month of October a year ago.
Witherspoon helped the Seahawks allow just 12.5 points per game in four games in the month. He had 17 tackles, two sacks, five passes defended and a sack.
Witherspoon, who also earned honors as NFC Defensive Player of the Week following the Giants game, said he was happy to win the award, but said he knows all that matters is what happens next.
"It's dope," said Witherspoon. "Celebrated with my teammates, myself and my family. But this is a good accomplishment. I'm just trying to continue to get it every month, just stack days."
The more that the Seahawks get to know Witherspoon, the less they worry how he'll handle the attention.
"He's a really humble kid," defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt said following Thursday's practice. "He talks a lot, and a lot of that, he's talking to himself and is always engaged and in the moment and all those things. Always looking for more and other ways to get better always, asking the right questions, which is something that I love.
"He's really engaged. He's not thinking about anything — what he's trying to get done or any accolades, not reading any press clippings. That's not the type of kid he is. That usually bodes well for his talent for a very bright future and handling the success well."
The 22-year-old Witherspoon said just in case he was to go off track, he has a lot of teammates in the Seahawks locker room ready to tell him.
"They just always keep me with a level mind, and they just say we've got to go out there and just prove it again," Witherspoon said. "Anybody can do it one time, so how many times can you do it? How consistent can you be? That right there just leads me to continue to keep my head down and just keep grinding."
Hurtt 'very excited' by addition of Williams
No one was happier about Monday's trade with the Giants for defensive lineman Leonard Williams than Hurtt, who was the Seahawks' defensive-line coach from 2017-21 before becoming coordinator.
"Very excited," he said. "... You add another big-time playmaker to the group. [He] obviously adds to your depth, so you can continue to rotate and keep guys fresh. Outstanding football player."
Adding Williams may allow Hurtt to get the snap counts of the two defensive linemen who have played the most this season — Jarran Reed and Dre'Mont Jones — down a little bit. Reed has played just over 65% of the snaps and Jones 64%. Hurtt said ideally linemen would be at about 60% at most.
"Usually teams that make the long [playoff] runs [that] have a lot of sustained success, you have depth in the defensive line so guys can stay fresh," he said. "It's a taxing position, but very impactful. You need to have guys to be as fresh as possible throughout the duration of the game, especially [in the] fourth quarter to finish strong."
Williams will also gives them more options. The Seahawks list a base 3-4 defensive front, but also still play a lot of alignments with a four-man defensive front, often with a player listed as an outside linebacker playing in a down formation.
Williams can give them four true DLs, so they could play regularly in four-man fronts along with Reed, Jones and Mario Edwards Jr.
While Hurtt has seen Williams up close before — most recently when the Seahawks played the Giants last month — being around him regularly the past two days has only increased his appreciation of his physical stature.
"I mean, 6-foot-4 and change, 6-5 guy, 35-inch arms," Hurtt said. "He can tie his shoes without bending over. I mean, he's got long arms."
Guards Bradford, Lewis sit out
The Seahawks continued to have a relatively small injury report Thursday with only four players sitting out. Linebacker Bobby Wagner was listed as a resting player, and receiver DK Metcalf, who has been dealing with a hip injury, sat out after practicing Wednesday.
Guards Damien Lewis (ankle/illness) and Anthony Bradford (ankle) sat out. Lewis was a full participant Wednesday, and his illness designation indicates that was the primary issue.
Bradford was limited Wednesday and out Thursday, which sometimes indicates a new injury.
Carroll did not talk to media Thursday, so there were no specifics.
Phil Haynes (calf) was a full participant and could return to the starting lineup at right guard, where Bradford had filled in for him the last two games.
Three others were listed as limited — WR Tyler Lockett (hamstring) OLB Boye Mafe (shoulder) and safety Jamal Adams (resting player/knee).
Mafe was also limited Wednesday, while Lockett — who has been practicing sparingly the last few weeks — and Adams were out Wednesday.
