Seahawks say rookie Nick Emmanwori expected to play in Super Bowl | Notebook
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Mike Macdonald said it first. Nick Emmanwori backed it up a short time later.
The Seahawks firmly believe their rookie defensive back will be available for Super Bowl 60 after the scare of an ankle injury in practice.
“He’s confident. Got a great plan. Fully expect him to play,” Macdonald said on Thursday morning inside the San Jose Convention Center in the final media availability for the team before Sunday’s game against New England.
There was a clear scare, though, thrown into the preparations of the week when Emmanwori went down during Wednesday’s practice at San Jose State. Emmanwori said he rolled his ankle – the same one he injured in Week 1 against San Francisco – while Macdonald classified it as a low ankle sprain.
Emmanwori had imaging done on Wednesday night after practice concluded and walked into the convention center a day later without any noticeable issues.
“Yeah, I expect to play on Sunday,” Emmanwori said. “I feel good. Training staff has a good plan for me. Everything good and just making sure I’m rehabbing good.”
The rookie, who is a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year at NFL Honors Thursday night in San Francisco, became one of the key parts in the dominance of the Seahawks defense through the regular season and into the playoffs. His size and his ability to line up in the slot or close to the line of scrimmage has freed up Macdonald to fully maximize what he can do with this defense.
But word of Emmanwori’s injury on Wednesday night immediately brought back memories of the last Seattle appearance in the Super Bowl and a knee injury suffered by another uniquely talented safety during game week when Kam Chancellor went down with a torn MCL and bone bruise in his left knee the Friday before the Super Bowl loss to New England 11 years ago.
Macdonald joked as he walked to the podium on Thursday, “There’s no way the first question is about Nick.”
Seahawks popular among rivals
Ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl, even the Seahawks’ knocked-out opponents can’t help but sing the team’s praises.
The Seahawks face the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., in their first Super Bowl appearance in over a decade.
San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey, despite his team’s 41-6 loss to the Seahawks in the NFC divisional round on Jan. 17, spoke highly of Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold on Wednesday.
McCaffrey and Darnold played together for the Carolina Panthers in 2021 and the 49ers in 2023, the latter season with Darnold as a backup QB to Brock Purdy.
“I’ve had two stints with (Darnold),” McCaffrey said of his now-NFC West foe. “… The more and more you see him at practice, you see the throws he makes, you understand why he was a top pick in the draft, and then you are around him more, you’re like, ‘This is one of the best players I’ve been around, period.’ It’s because of how talented his arm is. He is way more athletic than people give him credit for, and he’s really good at taking what’s given to him and doing his job.”
Since Darnold and McCaffrey’s time together, Darnold has become just the second quarterback in league history, along with Tom Brady, to win 14 games in back-to-back regular seasons. He put together a 14-3 performance as the Minnesota Vikings’ starting QB in 2024 and did it again this year with the Seahawks.
Nevertheless, Darnold faced scrutiny all season for his ability, or lack thereof, to show up in big games, with doubters pointing mainly to him taking nine sacks in the wild-card round last postseason and to the six collective interceptions he threw against the Los Angeles Rams in their two regular-season matchups this season.