The Seattle Seahawks welcomed the 2023 NFL draft class on Friday for the team’s annual rookie minicamp. The two first-rounders, cornerback Devon Witherspoon and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, were present at the VMAC but were very limited participants in the day’s activities.
Coach Pete Carroll and his staff are going to be extra cautious with the rookies, who are both coming off injuries.
“Both guys had hamstring issues in the offseason, so we just want to make sure we know where they are,” Carroll told reporters. “We don’t want to go too far, too fast, there’s no reason at this point. They can still get all the learning done, there’s a lot of walkthrough plays in this process we go through, so they can get the learning and see what’s going on. They’ve been on zoom calls since the draft with our coaches, so they do understand what’s going on, now they’re putting it together.
“But we’re assessing more than anything to make sure we know where we are.”
Per the Seahawks’ website, Witherspoon did get in some early work before retiring to the sideline and Smith-Njigba was able to manage individual drills but sat out the team portion of the workout.
The Seahawks rookies and invitees return to the field on Saturday for the second day of camp.
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