Nick Emmanwori injury update: Seahawks safety doesn't practice but Super Bowl outlook good

SAN JOSE, CA − In what's been a relatively quiet week in the ramp-up to Super Bowl 60, the ankle injury suffered by Seattle Seahawks starting safety Nick Emmanwori in practice on Feb. 4 certainly qualified as news.

Head coach Mike Macdonald revealed Feb. 5 that Emmanwori suffered a low ankle sprain. He didn't practice Thursday but should be available for the game.

"Fully expect him to play," said Macdonald. "He's doing great and moving around, just gotta make sure we handle it the right way."

The Feb. 4 pool report revealed Emmanwori was hurt late in Wednesday's padded practice but the severity of the injury was not clear then.

Emmanwori said Thursday that he rolled the ankle toward the end of practice, saying, "It kind of caught me off guard."

"Nobody wants to get hurt or banged up during Super Bowl week or anything like that," he said. "I'll be fine. I'll be good."

A second-round draft pick last year, Emmanwori was a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year, an award that ultimately went to Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger. Massive (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) by safety standards and a freakish athlete, Emmanwori had 11 pass breakups, 2½ sacks and 81 tackles during the regular season.

As for the approach with Emmanwori moving forward, Macdonald said during Thursday's pool report: "Let's do the smartest thing for us and him every day, and make sure we're ready to go, We'll evaluate it tomorrow and see how much he can do."

Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold, who was also limited Feb. 4 by the oblique injury he initially suffered in a practice last month, was a full participant in the Feb. 5 session − the first time he'd managed that in three weeks. However the injury hasn't seemed to hinder Darnold in either of Seattle's playoff wins.

“Sam’s right on schedule,” Macdonald said in Wednesday's pool report. “So we’ve had this plan here over the last X amount of weeks, and it varies every day. And today he had a great day, so we’re right on schedule.”

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