Seahawk Tariq Woolen has knee surgery, expected to be ready for training camp

Seahawks second-year cornerback Tariq Woolen underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday to repair a minor issue that arose last week. But Woolen is expected to be ready for training camp, a league source confirmed to The Seattle Times.

Woolen also confirmed the surgery with a post on Instagram, stating: “I’m fine and surgery was smooth!!! Appreciate the love.”

Woolen, who was named to the Pro Bowl last year during a breakout rookie season, was not seen Monday at Seattle’s first OTA (organized team activity).

As reported first by ESPN and confirmed to The Times, Woolen felt soreness in his knee last week and, after a review of the injury, he underwent surgery Tuesday in Houston. According to ESPN’s report, the surgery “went as well as doctors could have hoped.”

Woolen, drafted in the fifth round in 2022 out of University of Texas-San Antonio, tied for the NFL lead in interceptions a year ago with six.

Seattle on Monday also re-signed veteran cornerback Artie Burns, giving the team 10 cornerbacks on its roster. The signing was announced Tuesday, with the Seahawks waiving rookie nose tackle Robert Cooper to make room on the 90-man roster. Cooper signed as an undrafted free agent out of Florida State.

However, a source said the signing of Burns was not directly related to Woolen’s injury. Instead, the two sides had been talking throughout the offseason, with Seattle hoping to get Burns back as veteran depth and the deal was finally worked out Monday. Terms of Burns’ contract are not yet available.

With Woolen out, rookie Devon Witherspoon and veteran Michael Jackson typically worked with the number one defense during Monday’s OTA, with third-year cornerback Tre Brown also mixing in some. Jackson mostly worked on the right side, where Woolen played last year, with Witherspoon on the left, where Jackson played last season.

It is expected that Witherspoon and Jackson will compete for the left cornerback spot with Woolen remaining on the right once he returns. With Woolen out, Jackson is getting snaps on the right side.

Second-year cornerback Coby Bryant also sat out the team portion of the OTA but did take part in the walk-through.

Coach Pete Carroll did not speak to the media after so there was no official word on why some players were out.

Burns, 28, a first-round pick of the Steelers in 2016, signed initially with the Seahawks last spring and worked often with the first-team defense before suffering a groin injury in training camp. That limited him to playing just 16 snaps during the season as Woolen, Jackson and Bryant emerged as starters.

The Seahawks are scheduled for nine total OTA workouts and a mandatory three-day minicamp from now through mid-June before taking a break for the summer and returning for training camp in late July.

The waiving of Cooper means Seattle has six players listed as nose tackles on its roster — Bryan Mone, Cameron Young, Jonah Tavai, Austin Faoliu, Forrest Merrill and LaTrell Bumphus. Bumphus was signed Monday.

Myles Adams, listed as a defensive end, can also play some nose tackle, as can Jarran Reed.

The Seahawks announced they have signed guard Anthony Bradford, a fourth-round pick out of LSU, to his four-year rookie contract.

Seattle now has seven of its 10 draft picks signed. Those not signed are cornerback Devon Witherspoon, linebacker Derick Hall and running back Zach Charbonnet.