Nick Emmanwori doesn’t look back at the Super Bowl ankle injury with regret.
The Seahawks nickelback said he knew what he was giving up when he tried to push through the pain after getting hurt the Wednesday before Seattle faced the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60 in February. The injury stuck with him long enough that he needed surgery in July, which kept him out of Seattle’s 2026 opener against the Patriots and has also limited him in the two games since.
Still, Emmanwori says he’d make the same choice.
“It was worth it,” Emmanwori said. “Dealing with that through the Super Bowl, my mindset was it wouldn’t have felt complete for me to work my way all the way up through the season, all the playoff games, just not to play in the Super Bowl.
“Last game of the season. It was a no-brainer for me to go out there. It was worth it.”
The 22-year-old spent much of the offseason hoping the ankle would cooperate without surgery. He got through organized team activities, but he also had stretches before training camp when he didn’t feel fully right. Eventually, the combination of how he felt and the opinions he got from different doctors pushed him toward the procedure.
“Ultimately,” Emmanwori said, “the thought process was, go ahead and get it done with, over with. I didn’t want to be in Week 8, Week 9 or something, and it’s still bugging me, and I can’t be out there in the middle of the season.”
Now he’s trying to work his way back to the kind of load he carried as a rookie, when he flashed as one of Seattle’s most productive defenders. The Seahawks made him the No. 35 pick in the 2025 draft, and he responded with 81 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, one interception and 11 pass breakups despite missing three games and most of a fourth. Only Ernest Jones IV and Drake Thomas finished with more tackles on the team.
That production helped turn Emmanwori into a recognizable name beyond Seattle, and he knows the bar has moved up.
“Across the NFL world, my name is known a little bit,” Emmanwori said. “They know me as a good defensive player, but I’m trying to become one of the best defensive players in the league.”
For now, the focus is simpler: getting his snap count back up. He played nine of Seattle’s 50 defensive snaps in his season debut against the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 20, then jumped to 36 of 69 in Sunday’s 33-31 loss to the Washington Commanders.
Last season, he was much more involved down the stretch, logging at least 81.5 percent of the defensive snaps in each of the Seahawks’ final 15 games, playoffs included. That run came as Seattle leaned heavily into sub packages, using at least five defensive backs on 93.3 percent of plays during that stretch, with nickel on 72.4 percent of snaps and dime on 20.5 percent. Through three games this season, the Seahawks have still been among the league’s most frequent users of five defensive backs or more, doing it on 78.8 percent of plays, sixth most in the NFL.
Coach Mike Macdonald said Emmanwori’s role will keep growing as his health allows, and he praised how the defensive back has handled the comeback.
Emmanwori, though, said the process has tested him. He was on the sideline for a number of important third downs against Washington while trusting the coaching and medical staff to manage his return.
“As a competitor, I want to go out there and play, win games and be on the field,” Emmanwori said. “It’s something new I’m experiencing.”
Seattle could certainly use him sooner rather than later. The secondary has been battered by injuries, especially at safety.
Ty Okada (hamstring) and Julian Love (calf), the projected starters, missed the Commanders game. Love was limited in practice Wednesday, while Okada has yet to practice or appear in a regular-season game.
Second-round rookie Bud Clark broke his ankle in the preseason and is done for the year. Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen, both important pieces last season, left in free agency for the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.
Even with those absences, Emmanwori said the defense hasn’t lost its edge.
“We can’t even notice that things are missing,” he said. “Whenever I get back, and we fully ramp up, the defense is going to be the real deal, even better than last year.”
Through three games, Seattle’s defense has shown both promise and vulnerability. The Seahawks held their first two opponents to a combined 17 points, then gave up 33 to Washington, with 21 of those points coming off turnovers. The makeshift secondary, featuring Rodney Thomas II and AJ Finley as the starting safeties against the Commanders, had breakdowns that helped Marcus Mariota throw three touchdown passes.
Some scores came on clean individual plays, like Terry McLaurin’s 30-yard touchdown. Others came after the coverage simply fell apart.
The Seahawks are hopeful Love will return soon and that Emmanwori will soon be back to full strength. If that happens, the unit headlined by All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon could get even tougher as Emmanwori gets more reps under his belt.
For Emmanwori, the difficult first full offseason is behind him now. He wanted to ride the Super Bowl toughness into Year 2, but surgery ended up being the better path.
“Everything turned out good. I’m here now,” Emmanwori said.
“Healthy, ready to go and help the team. All that stuff is in the past now.”
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