Strong safety Jamal Adams will not play in the Seattle Seahawks' season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, coach Pete Carroll told Seattle's 93.3 KJR-FM radio Friday.

That declaration confirmed what has seemed likely in recent days. Adams, who missed almost all of last season after tearing a quad tendon in the opener, has still not practiced since being activated off the physically unable to perform list Aug. 24; he has taken part only in walk-through since then.

"If you watched him work out, you would not think that he couldn't go," Carroll told the radio station. "He's really working hard at it, but we've got to make sure that once he's back, he stays back, so we're going to be really careful with how we do that.

"It's a long season and there will be a tremendous amount of season ahead whether it's the first couple games or whatever. I'm not worried about it. I just want him right and really confident and ready to sustain once he gets back."

Carroll told reporters last week that Adams was expected to begin practicing this week, but he did not.

Knowing all along that Adams might not be ready by the start of the season, the Seahawks signed former New York Giants safety Julian Love to a two-year, $12 million deal in March.

Love will start alongside Quandre Diggs until Adams returns, with the plan to frequently play all three at once in certain packages once Adams is back.

Carroll also said "it's going to be a race" for rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon to make it back by the opener. Witherspoon, the fifth overall pick this year, hasn't practiced since he re-injured his hamstring on Aug. 7.