SAN FRANCISCO — One of Seattle’s best young players suffered an injury in Wednesday’s practice.
Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori hurt his ankle while defending a pass late in practice, per PFWA pool reporter Kalyn Kahler. He walked off the field under his own power, but the injury was reportedly significant enough that Emmanwori is getting additional imaging on it.
“He had an ankle today, we brought him in to look at it, and we’ll kind of go from here and figure out what are the next steps?” coach Mike Macdonald said.
A second-round pick in last spring’s NFL Draft (No. 35 overall), Emmanwori delivered a terrific rookie season. In an NFL Media story that ran earlier in the day on Wednesday, Seahawks players raved about what the safety had meant to the defense this year.
“It allows you to be versatile,” safety Julian Love told Kevin Patra. “You can use him as an outside linebacker. Use him as a linebacker. Use him as a nickel. Use him as a corner. Use him as a safety. Whatever. It’s an incredible X-factor. And there are few.”
The rookie’s stat line reflected that, too. Emmanwori finished his first season in Seattle with 81 tackles, 11 passes defensed, nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and an interception. In two playoff games, he’d broken up four passes and recovered a fumble.
Just four days away from Super Bowl 60 against the Patriots, Emmanwori’s status has become a major storyline.