The Seahawks have dealt with numerous absences of key players this season due to injuries and suspensions. They just received another in the form of Al Woods’ four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. He will not play in the final two games in the regular season and two postseason games if Seattle makes it past the wild card round.
This comes four days after wide receiver Josh Gordon’s indefinite suspension, marking two suspensions to impact players in less than a week.
This is obviously a big blow to Seattle’s ambitions to claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC, as the Seahawks need all the defensive help they can get without losing more players on that side of the ball. Jadeveon Clowney and Quandre Diggs may be out for Week 16 against the Cardinals with their respective core and ankle injuries, and Shaquill Griffin and Mychal Kendricks are questionable as well, so losing Woods only exacerbates the Seahawks’ defensive issues.
Woods has been a solid player for Seattle this year, particularly in run defense. He recorded 32 tackles, two forced fumbles and a sack in the 2019 season. The defensive line has been one of the weakest position groups for the Seahawks this season, but Woods’ absence leaves them even more depleted. With injuries and suspensions mounting up, the Seahawks should feel even more urgency to win out over the remaining two games of the year.
