Seahawks won't practice, play versus superstar receiver in preseason

On Thursday afternoon, it was revealed that the Seattle Seahawks won’t play against Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in Week 1 of the preseason. Herbert is nursing a plantar fascia injury that will sideline him for Seattle’s upcoming trip to SoFi Stadium. Later that evening, more injury news from around the league was uncovered that impacted Seattle’s schedule.

Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins suffered a knee injury in Wednesday’s practice that will sideline him for four-to-six weeks, according to a report from Paul Kuharsky. The Seahawks will travel to Nashville for a matchup with the Titans in their second preseason game. Hopkins won’t be available.

Perhaps more notably, the Seahawks are actually traveling to Nashville early for joint practices with the Titans on Wednesday, Aug. 14 and Thursday, Aug. 15. It’s actually a shame that Hopkins won’t be available for these competitive practices.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde would have appreciated an opportunity to test their new-look secondary versus Hopkins, a five-time Pro Bowler. Those one-versus-one reps in a joint practice are often more helpful than an exhibition game itself.

Going up against a seasoned pro like Hopkins would have been beneficial for young cornerbacks such as Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen. Fortunately for the Seahawks, the Titans still have some pretty good receivers that will challenge their secondary in shared practice. The Titans signed both Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd this offseason.

If this was a competitive regular season game, you wouldn’t exactly shed tears if the opposing team was missing a stud like Hopkins. But joint practices and the preseason are designed for iron to sharpen iron. It’s unfortunate that Hopkins won’t practice or play versus the Seahawks.