RENTON — Given some of their own circumstances of the season, neither Julian Love nor Devon Witherspoon expected what was coming when they were told Wednesday to meet with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
"I thought we were in trouble, I'm not going to lie," Witherspoon said. "I thought we were about to get in trouble."
Instead, Carroll told those two — along with middle linebacker Bobby Wagner — that they had been named as initial selections to the 2024 Pro Bowl.
For Wagner, the honor was sort of old hat, if still really appreciated, as it was his ninth invite. That ties for the most overall invites as a Seahawk with Walter Jones and Russell Wilson but is the most as an initial invite.
But the invite was the first for Love, a fifth-year vet, and it goes without saying it was as well for Witherspoon, a rookie who arrived in Seattle last spring as the fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Witherspoon has missed three games and most of a fourth due to injury, holding some of his overall stats down. He also said he figured being a rookie was in itself enough to make it unlikely he'd get selected.
"Yeah, it surprised me, just because I was a rookie," Witherspoon said. "I didn't think it was going to go like that. I think rookies have to prove themselves a little bit more before they get selected for something like that. But, yeah, it surprised me."
Love, meanwhile, spent much of the season working in a third safety role with Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams as the team's two official starters. Love has played 77% of the team's overall snaps, but in some games when Adams got all the snaps, he played as few as 20%.
That alone, Love figured, made the Pro Bowl seem unlikely enough that he hadn't even really been giving it much thought.
"Very unexpected," Love said Thursday. "Just genuine shock."
Asked why, Love said: "I mean, shoot, there were some games I barely played [on defense] this year. The Ravens game, Dallas game, I wasn't out there that much. By a lot of people's eyes, I was the third safety, which in some games I was. I just tried to stay productive and just kind of do my thing. Fan voting, I didn't even place for that this year [in the top 10]. So it was just out of my mind all year."
Like Witherspoon, Love said he couldn't really fathom why he was being called to meet with Carroll on Wednesday.
"Me and Spoon were in the locker room, our lockers are right next to each other, and somebody grabbed us and rushes us to an office," Love recalled. "And I'm like, 'Oh, do I have to sign something?' Direct deposits are always acting funny. And Pete's sitting there in his big godfather chair, and he just said congrats to myself, Spoon and Bobby."
The Pro Bowl nod capped an eventful year for Love, who signed a two-year deal worth up to $12 million with Seattle in March after talks broke down with the Giants, for whom he'd been a team captain in 2022 and played four seasons overall.
Then in one week last month, he was named as the NFC's Defensive Player of the Week for picking off two passes to seal a Monday night win over the Eagles, then welcomed the birth of his first child, a son, four days later. Love was selected as one of two strong safeties, the other being former Washington and Bellevue High star Budda Baker of Arizona, the team the Seahawks play Sunday.
"It's unbelievable," he said of making the Pro Bowl. "It's crazy. You can hear it, you can think it, but that's never on my mind, especially this year. It was never on my mind for a possibility. I was productive, I knew where I stacked up against everybody, but I just thought that it was one of those things that I don't usually get. It was affirming for sure, but I know there's a lot more that I left out there that I thought I could get."
Witherspoon became the second Seahawks cornerback to make it as a rookie in the last two years, joining Riq Woolen. Witherspoon was one of four rookies to make it and the only one as a defensive player.
What did Witherspoon think he proved this season?
"That I am who I always will be, and people just got to respect that at the end of the day," he said.
Geno Smith rooting for Penix
Seattle's two starting quarterbacks — Geno Smith and UW's Michael Penix Jr. — got to know each other through a few workouts this offseason, forming a mutual admiration society.
Smith said Thursday he made sure to watch UW's Sugar Bowl win over Texas.
"I thought he played phenomenal," Smith said. "I think Mike has a bright future. I think he's a guy who has a ton of talent and I saw that up close. I think he has the ability to play in this league, I know he does. I hope they pull it off, get the win and bring it back to Seattle. It's been a great story for them, a great story for Mike, all the things he's battled back from, and I'm just proud to see him doing his thing. He's done a great job."
Eight sit out practice
The Seahawks listed eight players as sitting out Thursday's practice — offensive tackles Abraham Lucas (knee) and Jason Peters (foot), linebacker Nick Bellore (knee), defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. (knee), nose tackle Jarran Reed (knee), linebacker Jordyn Brooks (ankle), guard Phil Haynes (toe) and defensive end Leonard Williams (shoulder).
Brooks missed Sunday's game with a sprained ankle but practiced on a limited basis Wednesday, giving hope he could return for Sunday's game against Arizona. It's unclear if he had a setback or just got a rest day. Carroll will talk to media Friday, at which time the team will also release a game status report.
Hynes returned to practice on Wednesday, but sitting out Thursday could indicate he may not be activated by Sunday. Lucas and Peters have already been all but ruled out by Carroll. Williams was listed as a full participant Wednesday while Reed was out Wednesday.
Running back Kenneth Walker III (shoulder) was listed as limited, an upgrade after sitting out Wednesday and a sign that he appears on track to play Sunday.
Everyone else was a full participant, including center Evan Brown, who had to leave Sunday's game in the third quarter with a concussion.
