GLENDALE, Ariz. — Nick Emmanwori saw his first action of the season in Sunday’s 31-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals after sitting out the season opener due to an ankle injury that required surgery before training camp.
The Seahawks second-year safety expanded on his journey back to the field after making his 2026 debut in Week 2.
“Ultimately it was just trying to figure out what was the best thing to do,” Emmanwori said after the victory. “Whether it was going to heal on its own. It was just like a whole weird situation and I thought it was really good, but turned out it was just the best decision to knock it out so I can be good early in the season, like right now.”
The decision for him to undergo surgery came after his participation in Seattle’s offseason program. Emmanwori was then forced to watch from the sidelines as Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning defense prepared to defend its title this summer.
“It was a weird thing where some days it was feeling 100 percent, some days it wasn’t, so it was kind of tricky,” he said. “Some days I felt like me, some days I wasn’t. So I just made a decision just to go ahead and trust the doctors, trust his plan and stuff and go ahead and go with it.”
Emmanwori didn’t have a splashy return, in part because he was playing on limited snaps, but the second-year safety used Sunday to get back in the routine of a game day.
“It felt good to be out there,” Emmanwori said. “I was on a snap count coming into my first game. It was good to get back out there with the guys. They were out there spinning. [I was] getting my feet back wet.”
He added, “Once I was out there, things felt a little new, but once I made a few plays, I was good.”