RENTON — The “very soon’’ that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll predicted was the time frame for cornerback Devon Witherspoon to sign his contract and report for practice apparently means more than just a day.
As the Seahawks went through their second practice of training camp Thursday, Witherspoon was again absent, still at odds with the team over the terms of his four-year rookie deal due him for being the fifth overall pick in the draft.
Not in dispute are the years or the overall dollar amount ($31.861 million), which are not negotiable.
What is in dispute is the timing of the payout for his overall signing bonus of $20.171 million. It is thought that Witherspoon wants it all up front, with the Seahawks preferring to spread it out, as has been their process for major contracts.
The Seahawks practice again Friday and are off Saturday. Carroll surely prefers Witherspoon is back sooner rather than later. Witherspoon is the only one of the 259 players taken in the 2023 draft who is unsigned and did not report to camp on time.
But at least one of Witherspoon’s teammates — veteran safety Quandre Diggs — said players are understanding of the situation.
“For me, you let him handle his business,’’ Diggs said. “I wouldn’t want anybody in my business. When I had my incident two years ago [Diggs sat out of some on-field work in camp in 2021 while getting his contract reworked], it wasn’t like Bobby [Wagner] was running around telling me to get out there and do this.
“He’d give me advice, and [I’d] just explain it to him, and that’s all you can do. It’s not like I don’t think ‘Spoon wants to be here — he wants to be here. You see the competitive nature when he was here during OTAs and minicamp. At the end of the day, it will get handled and it will get worked out, so he’ll be out here, and it will be water under the bridge.”
Witherspoon reportedly will not practice until he signs, so there was no mystery to him not being present Thursday since it had not been revealed or announced he’d signed.
Also still out were the six players placed on the physically unable to perform list the day before, including safety Jamal Adams and cornerback Riq Woolen.
The absence of Adams, Woolen and Witherspoon means Seattle is practicing without three players who could be starters, or at least have significant roles, in the secondary. Without Witherspoon and Woolen, Michael Jackson and Tre Brown again worked as the starting outside corners with Coby Bryant as the nickel.
Diggs said their performance the first two days has only reiterated how strong Seattle’s secondary could be once it’s at full strength.
“It’s impressive,’’ he said. “I think this is probably the best depth that we’ve had since I have been here. … At the end of the day, it’s a next-man-up mentality right now, and we’ll be happy when those guys get back out there. It just gives us more for our bodies to work together and get that chemistry going.”
As for Adams, his return from a torn quad muscle might still take a while, as the team has set no ETA. Carroll wouldn’t commit to him being ready for the season opener. Diggs, who has become close with Adams in their three years with the Seahawks, said Adams is eager to get back.
“He’s good,’’ Diggs said. “He’s in a good spot mentally, so you know when he’s out here, he’ll be out here. I just told him to take his time and it’s a process. Every day you take it step by step, and he knows what he’s doing when he gets out there. When he gets out there, it’s going to be time to go, so it’ll be exciting. And when it’s his time, it’s his time.”
Notes, quotes and anecdotes
• The Seahawks have said they have basically an open competition at center, and they appeared to live up to that Thursday, giving rookie Olu Oluwatimi, a fifth-round pick out of Michigan, all of the snaps with the first-team offense. Veteran free-agent signee Evan Brown took all the snaps with the second team. Those roles had been reversed Wednesday. Quarterback Geno Smith said after practice only that he has been impressed by both. “Both guys are doing a great job, man,’’ Smith said. “… I just try to go out and do my job and not worry about who is up front, but I don’t notice a difference when either guy is in.’’
• The offensive lines otherwise were the same as the day before, with Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas as the tackles, and Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes as the guards with the starters.
• Projected starting running back Kenneth Walker III was present on the sidelines but did not practice. Carroll did not talk to the media, so there was no word on why he sat out, though there was no injury. It is not uncommon for running backs, in particular, to have their work spread out during camp. Without Walker, rookie Zach Charbonnet took most of the snaps with the first-team offense, with DeeJay Dallas working often as the third-down/two-minute back and Kenny McIntosh also mixing in.
• First-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba turned in the play of the day with a left-handed, one-handed catch for a touchdown between two defenders — Jackson and safety Julian Love — on a pass from Smith. Defenders are not supposed to make contact or plays on the ball during the ramp-up period. But the play was impressive nonetheless. “That was sweet,’’ Smith said. “Jaxon, he’s made so many great plays. That’s just who he is.’’
• Smith-Njigba consistently worked in the slot, alongside Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf as the starters on the outside, in three-receiver sets, with Smith-Njigba showing no sign of any issue from the hamstring injury that held him to just three games last season at Ohio State. Lockett and Metcalf also turned in receptions on long passes — Lockett’s for a TD on what looked like a broken play thrown by Smith — in what was a pretty strong day for the receiving corps.
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