The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are facing off in Super Bowl 60, but questions linger about Seattle’s star safety, Nick Emmanwori. The rookie defensive back has been key in defensive coordinator Aden Durde’s schemes against pass games this season, and the 12s of the Seahawks will be hoping he shows up on Sunday.
Will Emmanwori play in the Super Bowl?
Seahawks S Nick Emmanwori Ankle Injury Worth ‘Monitoring,’ Says Insider
Emmanwori reportedly suffered an ankle injury in practice on Wednesday, leaving his status for the Super Bowl in doubt. He suffered a non-contact injury late in the session, and the training staff is reportedly monitoring his recovery. He’s been a consistent feature in Seattle’s defense this campaign, and the unit will undoubtedly enter its tilt against New England on the back foot if he’s not healthy.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport relayed the news about the young safety’s situation:
“A situation to monitor, via the #Seahawks pool report on star S Nick Emmanwori.”
He posted a screenshot detailing Emmanwori’s condition:
“Safety Nick Emmanwori was limited in practice on Wednesday with an ankle injury that he suffered during practice… The rookie safety injured his ankle while defending a pass late in practice. He walked off the field on his own shortly before 4 p.m. Several players and coaches went over to comfort him before he left… ‘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,’ (HC) Macdonald.'”
The Seahawks will be in a squeeze to make the boat float deep in the secondary without Emmanwori (80.2 PFSN S Impact). While Julian Love is versatile enough to play strong safety and free safety, head coach Mike Macdonald will likely keep him at free safety and look to backup Ty Okada to fill in at the strong safety position.
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The rest of the active roster is devoid of strong safeties, as A.J. Finley is injured. So, if Emmanwori ends up missing the Super Bowl, Macdonald will be left weighing whether he should replace Emmanwori with one of his available safeties or elevate someone from the practice squad. In the latter situation, he’ll have strong safety Maxen Hook at his disposal; however, the undrafted rookie has no playing experience.
Alternatively, veteran Quandre Diggs could be elevated from the practice squad. While he’s a natural free safety, his decade of NFL experience could be valuable in the Super Bowl.
