RENTON, Wash. -- Pete Carroll didn't sound hopeful Wednesday about cornerback Shaquill Griffin making it back this week from a concussion, which means the Seattle Seahawks' secondary is likely to again be without three starters Sunday at San Francisco.

It's a situation that isn't the least bit ideal but one that could be a whole lot worse if it weren't for the Seahawks having brought back Byron Maxwell, whom they signed last week to reinforce their cornerback depth after losing Richard Sherman to a season-ending Achilles injury.

It was a no-brainer of a move. Seattle needed help at cornerback and Maxwell, a former Seahawks starter, was available after being released by Miami three weeks earlier. It seemed at first like his most likely path to playing time with Seattle would be if he could eventually overtake the left-cornerback job from Jeremy Lane, who has been in and out of the starting lineup -- and Seattle's favor -- this season.

Byron Maxwell, who spent his first four NFL seasons in Seattle before stints in Philly and Miami, is back as part of the Seahawks' efforts to fill in for the injured Richard Sherman. Steve Dykes/Getty Images

But Maxwell found his way onto the field earlier than expected when Griffin suffered a concussion two plays into Monday night's loss to Atlanta. Seven days after rejoining the team, Maxwell took over at right cornerback and acquitted himself well save for a pass-interference penalty.

"Byron played well and did a good job," Carroll said of the 29-year-old. "Had a PI in there, but he did a good job. He looked like the guy that we hoped he would look like and that's without a whole lot of preparation. He really kicked right back into the technique and the style of play and he's a strong, well-suited guy and I’m fired up that he's with us and I would think that he should only get better and more comfortable with what we're doing. I have no problem with him playing.”

Lane had a hard time on the left side Monday night while continually finding himself in Matt Ryan's crosshairs. Lane was flagged for PI, allowed a touchdown and was in coverage on several other Ryan completions, including a 29-yarder to Julio Jones that set up Atlanta's final field goal.

Overall, though, Seattle's pass defense held up OK under the circumstances. Ryan threw for 195 yards on 19-of-27 passing with two touchdowns. That snapped his NFL-record streak of 64 consecutive games with at least 200 yards. Seattle did that without Sherman and strong safety Kam Chancellor and also without getting much pressure on Ryan, whom they only hit four times and didn't sack until late in the fourth quarter.

A review of the film showed that Ryan threw at Maxwell four times, counting only those plays in which he was clearly in coverage against the intended receiver. Maxwell allowed one completion, an 11-yarder to Justin Hardy in the red zone. The other three resulted in a pass-breakup (Jones), an incompletion (Jones) and the PI, which was a clear-cut call when he rode Mohamed Sanu out of bounds.

"It felt good, man," Maxwell said. "It felt good to be out there playing with my brothers, be out there with guys I really care for."

Maxwell, a sixth-round pick in 2011, spent his first four seasons with Seattle and started 17 games over the 2013 and 2014 seasons before he signed with Philadelphia in free agency. The Seahawks' good fortune in having Maxwell back goes beyond his knowledge of their defense. It's also a matter of his familiarity with the "step-kick" technique they teach their cornerbacks, something that has proven difficult for outside free agents (see: Cary Williams) to pick up right away.

Maxwell was asked how quickly the technique came back to him given that he wasn't playing with it in his previous stops. Turns out, he had been.

"Actually, I was doing it in my stops. They probably didn't like it, but it's in me," he said. "It won't leave. I've just got to practice it. I practiced it a lot this week coming [into Monday night]. It's in me. It's ingrained in me. I can't get it out."

Carroll said of Maxwell on KIRO-AM 710 ESPN Seattle: "He was very specific about his technique and the way he played it. You could see the style come back. He can play."

Griffin didn't practice Wednesday per the NFL's concussion protocol. Carroll said it's "going to be hard for him to make it back" by Sunday. It doesn't help that the short week coming off a Monday night game leaves Griffin with one less day to be cleared.

So it'll likely be Maxwell starting against San Francisco (1-9) as the Seahawks (6-4) and their depleted secondary go for an eighth straight regular-season victory over the 49ers.

"We’re very glad he chose to come back and we’re glad he’s back," defensive coordinator Kris Richard said. "He’s home, and he’s fit right back in.”