Teammates sounding as if Nick Emmanwori won’t play. Seahawks’ options for opener

Signs are the key piece the Seahawks defense uses to check-mate offenses may not be on the board week one.

Nick Emmanwori was a limited participant in practice Sunday. The Seahawks issued their first participation and injury report of the season, three days before Seattle hosts the New England Patriots Wednesday in the NFL kickoff game at Lumen Field.

Coach Mike Macdonald's hybrid safety/linebacker who tilts schemes and plays in the Super Bowl champions' favor has yet to practice fully since his arthroscopic ankle surgery in mid-July.

For the third consecutive practice Emmanwori was stretching with teammates and participating with them in warmups. Sunday, he and the Seahawks were in shells for the practice.

Macdonald and his defense featured Emmanwori almost everywhere on the field last season. They allowed the fewest points in the league, then dominated the Patriots in Super Bowl 60 in February.

Ernest Jones made it sound as if Emmanwori isn't going to be playing in the 2026 opener.

The middle linebacker and signal-caller knows what Emmanwori enables the Seahawks defense to do — and what it would be missing would be missing without him.

Emmanwori sprained the ankle he eventually got repaired in practice four days before the Super Bowl against the Patriots in February, yet played the entire game.

"We can do multiple things. We can put him in certain positions to dictate certain reps and how you want certain things to go," Jones said Sunday.

"He's definitely a big part of our defense. And when we get him back — we can't wait to get him back — but for right now we're focused on who's out there, who's available right now.

"And we know that when his time comes," Jones said with a chuckle of Emmanwori, "he's an alien. He can do whatever."

The Seahawks are working through alternatives for playing Wednesday without Emmanwori. Macdonald wants to use an extra, fifth defensive back on the field, to move Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon from starting outside to inside at nickel in passing situations.

If Emmanwori can't be in the middle of the defense affecting New England in multiple ways including blitzing, the coach wants Witherspoon to be there.

Jones said the challenge of coming up with new schemes is invigorating Macdonald, on the eve of the defensive innovator's third season as a head coach.

"You can tell he's excited. He's dialin' stuff up, coming up with all kinds of things," Jones said.

There are questions with each of Macdonald's alternatives to go into nickel defense with a fifth defensive back if Emmanwori can't play.

Does he want to go to a third safety, beyond starters Julian Love and Ty Okada?

More to the point: Does he have even two healthy safeties?

Okada didn't practice Sunday. He has a newly reported hamstring issue.

So two of the three safeties on the 53-man, active roster are iffy to play Wednesday.

On the practice squad, the options for call-up include former Indianapolis Colts starter Rodney Thomas, second-year veteran Maxen Hook, 2025 contributor D'Anthony Bell and AJ Finley.

The coaches like Thomas' athleticism in the open field. He is back after missing time last month following hand surgery.

Bud Clark would have been the obvious candidate. But the rookie second-round draft choice broke his ankle in the second preseason game last month. He is out for the season.

Is Trevon Diggs, the former Dallas Cowboys All-Pro cornerback who signed in late August and practiced with the Seahawks for the first time the final week and a half of the preseason, going to be ready to play as the third cornerback when Macdonald wants to play nickel defense against New England? Diggs is on the practice squad trying to ramp up into playing shape and mastering the Seahawks defense after not practicing since January with Green Bay.

Defensive coordinator Aden Durde said following practice Sunday Diggs is good to go knowing enough of the defense to play

Is Avery Smith ready? The Seahawks traded with the Los Angeles Chargers for the undrafted rookie cornerback only one week ago. He had a great preseason for a Chargers defense similar in scheme to Seattle's.

Yet the rookie from Toledo knowing Macdonald's intricate defense enough to play outside cornerback after a week and a half with a new team is a tall ask.

Can they trust Nehemiah Pritchett? The unproven, third-year veteran began training camp as the third cornerback with Witherspoon playing inside. But Seattle's fifth-round draft choice in 2024 struggled with tackling. Veteran Noah Igbinoghene began taking some of Pritchett's reps with the starting defense in the middle of training camp last month.

The coaches weren't satisfied with Igbinoghene, either. The Seahawks cut him after they signed Diggs and signed Terrion Arnold , the former Detroit Lions first-round pick.

Arnold is now on the NFL commissioner's exempt list and unable to play as he faces eight felony charges in Florida.

Macdonald and the Seahawks could bypass their issue at third cornerback by welcoming back Tyrice Knight. It would reward Knight, a starting linebacker as a rookie in 2024 for Macdonald, for his standout training camp and preseason.

Seattle could use the three off-ball linebacker sets the defense worked in training camp. Knight and Drake Thomas, who beat out Knight as the starting weakside, "Will" inside linebacker last season, flank Jones in that alignment.

It's one more off-ball linebacker than the Seahawks played with, with Jones and Thomas, while in nickel and dime (five and six defensive backs) the majority of last season.

Three linebackers can an Emmanwori hedge until he is back full go.

Knight says the three-linebacker sets he's been working with Thomas and Jones aren't all that new to him.

"I mean, there's really no difference to me," Knight told The News Tribune before practice Sunday.

The fourth-round pick in 2024 said the role is like playing the Will linebacker in dime, six defensive-back sets, but that now he has more responsibilities to the wider side of the field in pass coverage.

Jones, the defense's signal-caller, loves the three-linebackers across the middle of the defense.

"Yeah, I think anytime we can add something, especially for defensive players (that) keep offenses off balance, that's really good," Jones said. "But I'm excited to see T-Knight come out there and ball with us.

"We love having three linebackers on the field. It's a little selfish thing with us linebackers.

"But he's been making plays throughout camp," Jones said of Knight. "He's deserved the opportunity to get out there with us. So I'm excited for it."