Seahawks safety Julian Love suffers injury ‘setback’

The Seattle Seahawks had been hoping their secondary would be back to full strength this week.

But now, it seems likely they’ll still be missing one key piece.

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Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters Wednesday that veteran safety Julian Love suffered a “setback” from his hamstring injury during last week’s bye, which puts his status “in jeopardy” for Sunday night’s Week 9 road matchup against the Washington Commanders.

Macdonald also said Love is under consideration for being placed on injured reserve, which would require him to miss at least four games.

Love, a 2023 Pro Bowler, has already missed four of the Seahawks’ seven games due to his hamstring injury. He was sidelined for Week 3, then returned to play every defensive snap in Week 4 before missing each of Seattle’s past three games.

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Love is one of several key defensive backs who’ve missed considerable time due to injuries this season.

Two-time All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon has missed five of seven games due to a knee injury, but appears on track to potentially return this week. Macdonald said Witherspoon will practice Wednesday. Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori missed nearly all of the first four games due to an ankle injury, but has since returned to play the past three games.

Love, Witherspoon and Emmanwori haven’t played a snap together since the opening minutes of Week 1.

If Love is out for Sunday night’s game against the Commanders, third-year safety Ty Okada would likely start in his place once again. Okada has started each of the four games Love missed and has played well, recording three pass breakups, 1.5 sacks and a tackle for loss. Okada is ranked 21st among 88 safeties in Pro Football Focus grading.

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