Seahawks DB Devon Witherspoon ‘looking forward’ to facing Ja’Marr Chase

RENTON, Wash. – In lavishing praise on rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon earlier this week in the wake of his breakout game against the Giants, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll also threw down something of a challenge.

“Just really thrilled to see him have that much success,” Carroll said. “Now I’m anxious to see how he responds to all of the attention. We’ll see.”

In the time since Carroll made that remark Monday, the attention on Witherspoon has only increased – not necessarily by his own making.

Wednesday, during his weekly news conference, DK Metcalf answered a question about what he admires about standout Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase by throwing in something of a prediction.

“He’s just a great receiver,” Metcalf said of Chase, who is coming off a record-setting day with 15 catches for 192 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-20 win Sunday at Arizona. “Tip my hat off to him with what he has done his first three years in the league. It’ll be fun to watch Sunday, but I think ‘Spoon’ will get the best of him.”

As boasts go, it was hardly Joe Namath’s famous Super Bowl III guarantee that the Jets would defeat the Colts.

But this being the NFL in the social media era, the remark did not go unnoticed in Cincinnati long.

By Thursday morning, Chase had reposted a clip of Metcalf’s statement on the social media platform X and some national sites began trying to build the comment into a budding rivalry.

Asked about Metcalf’s comment in Cincinnati on Thursday, Chase didn’t throw fuel on the fire.

“He ain’t doing nothing but praising his teammate,” Chase said. “That’s what he’s supposed to do. At the end of the day, it’s about game-time reps and game-time decisions. He’s going to get the opportunity to get his matchup and we’ll see who wins that matchup.”

Another comment from Chase, though, might catch the eye of some in the Seahawks locker room.

Asked what he’s seen from Witherspoon and Riq Woolen on film, Chase gave an entertaining scouting report: “One is shorter, one is taller. One is more handsy, one is not as more handsy. They both play different roles in it. One is super fast. One is like smooth. But you know they are both decent corners. They are not horrible. Their defense is good. Got to give props.”

If the NFL’s ever-churning social media industry was trying to turn all of this into Ali-Frazier I, Witherspoon insisted he hadn’t been paying attention.

Asked what he thought of Metcalf’s comment, Witherspoon said he hadn’t heard it.

Told what it was, Witherspoon smiled.

“That’s dope,” he said. “Shout out to DK.”

If it was a noninflammatory comment, it also is the kind that has seemed to come to typify who Witherspoon is – someone who doesn’t appear to be too awed by much of anything.

Witherspoon missed much of the offseason program with a hamstring injury, then missed much of training camp – including all three preseason games – with another one. That also came after he missed the first two days while his contract got sorted out.

All of which indicated it might take a while before Witherspoon would make his presence felt.

Instead, his insertion into the lineup in Week 2 against Detroit after he sat out the opener against the Rams, has coincided with vast improvement from the defense.

After playing his first two games as the left cornerback, he served a dual role against the Giants – playing outside in the base defense and moving inside in nickel.

Witherspoon handled the challenge as if it was no big deal, proving equally adept in both roles. He had two sacks and returned a pick-six 97 yards to seal a 24-3 win and earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

The Seahawks are likewise trying to act like it’s all no big deal – after all, there is a reason they took him with the fifth-overall pick and the highest choice the team had since 2009.

Still, getting early validation – especially after the somewhat uneven start to his career – has given some comfort.

“We’re not really surprised,” Carroll said. “We’re just excited that it’s fitting together. We didn’t know that he would be able to pick stuff up as well as he has. We were hoping. He has not even flinched at learning the nickel stuff in conjunction with the corner stuff. That’s just a real positive for us as we move forward in terms of matchups and how we can play our guys.”

If Carroll is concerned how he might handle the sudden attention, others aren’t.

“These accolades are cool, but there is a bigger picture and bigger thing that he wants to accomplish,” middle linebacker Bobby Wagner said this week. “Some of the stuff that he’s finally getting acknowledged for is cool, but I think he understands what the bigger picture for him is. I think he’ll handle it just fine.”

Witherspoon said some of the team’s vets have talked to him this week about the newfound attention coming his way.

“Just keep your head on straight,” Witherspoon said of the advice he has received. “It’s a long season, it’s early in the year, so things might go up, things might go down. It’s just how the game of football goes. So, just trying to keep a level head and continue to play.”

While Metcalf’s comment may tempt some to make Sunday a “Chase vs. Witherspoon” thing, it will take a team effort for the Seahawks to hold down the Bengals’ passing game.

Chase lines up regularly on both sides and in the slot. The Seahawks leave their outside corners on one side, and typically don’t try to shadow any specific receiver with any one defender.

“As far as we’ve seen on tape, he lines up everywhere, so we are going to play him wherever he comes out at,” Witherspoon said. “That’s basically it.”

That means Witherspoon could line up with Chase on the left side, but also in the slot. Woolen would match up with Chase on the right side.

If the spotlight will be on him when Chase does come to his side, Witherspoon seemed to be approaching it with his typical youthful enthusiasm.

“It’s very exciting,” he said. “It’s Ja’Marr Chase. I know what he’s capable of. The world knows what he’s capable of.

“Not more to be said. Two good competitors going at it. It’s going to be a great time. Great competition. Looking forward to it.”