RENTON, Wash. (AP) — For most of this offseason, Quandre Diggs has been able to usually wrap up his daily workouts before the lunch hour arrives.
That’s a significant and welcomed change from a year ago when the Seattle Seahawks starting safety would spend his entire mornings doing rehab after undergoing major surgery on his ankle before getting around to his normal workout.
“I literally had a month of offseason to get ready for full season so it was kind of rushed,” Diggs recalled on Tuesday after Seattle wrapped up the first day of its mandatory minicamp. “I didn’t get to do the things I normally get to do in the offseason.”
What Diggs experienced a year ago has given him a renewed sense of appreciation for having an offseason that looked more normal and allowed him to get ready for his fourth full season in Seattle the way he wants.
It’s also given him a little bit of understanding for what fellow safety Jamal Adams has gone through with yet another offseason filled with rehabbing from a major injury and surgery.
Adams appeared in only one game last season when he suffered a torn quadriceps tendon in the opener and missed the rest of the season. That was on top of missing the final five games of 2021 because of shoulder surgery and playing through hand and shoulder problems in 2020.
Adams and injured Seattle linebacker Jordyn Brooks (ACL) were both in attendance and spectators for the minicamp, as head coach Pete Carroll had said. Carroll said last week that it would be around the start of training camp before the team has a better idea on the timeline for a return for both players.
“This week is dope because everybody is here. Everybody is running their own race so I know what (Adams) and (Brooks) are going through with their rehab and stuff like that,” Diggs said. “I talk to those guys and having Jamal back is awesome. You guys know our relationship. It’s different when (Adams) is out there. His energy is a contagious thing that he brings. I can’t wait until he’s back out there playing.”
But the question remains even if Adams is ready to go around the start of the season is will he be able to play without reservation. Diggs went through a similar period of acclimation last season coming back from his ankle injury and said it was the second half of the season before he felt confident with his ankle.
Diggs was still able to perform at a high level, getting selected to the Pro Bowl, and started all 17 games, finishing with 71 tackles and four interceptions.
“You always want to feel like yourself, but it definitely it was literally the end of the season where I honestly felt like I could go out and make the plays that I needed to make. I could just trust that ankle that I can put it in the ground and I could just go and explode,” Diggs said.
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