The Seahawks’ preseason loss to the Titans came with a much bigger cost than the 19-16 final score.
Rookie safety Bud Clark broke his right ankle on Seattle’s first defensive snap Sunday night and will be sidelined for multiple months, head coach Mike Macdonald said after the game at Nissan Stadium. Clark was trying to stop a Tony Pollard run when he went down awkwardly, and trainers quickly fitted him with an air cast before he was carted off. Nearly the whole Seahawks roster, along with several Titans players, gathered around him before he left the field.
According to ESPN, Macdonald said: “Bud has a broken ankle to my knowledge, the severity I’m not sure, but he’s going to be out multiple months.”
Clark’s injury hit Seattle at a brutal time. The second-round pick out of TCU, taken 64th overall in April, started because Macdonald sat all of the Seahawks’ regular starters.
The plan was for Clark to battle Ty Okada for the job opposite Julian Love while also carving out a role in sub-packages and on special teams. That’s now on pause with the regular-season opener against the New England Patriots on Sept. 9 just weeks away.
Macdonald described Clark’s injury as one of “three heartbreakers this week.” Wide receiver Jake Bobo suffered a season-ending knee injury in Friday’s joint practice with the Titans, and backup offensive lineman Mason Richman also went down with what the coach called a major, long-term injury early in Sunday’s game.
Seahawks.com quoted Macdonald: “Two guys that we love that play our style of ball that are our type of guys. Teammates love them, great teammates, great guys, great football players, they have great futures.
It’s a heartbreaker, honestly.”
The depth chart picture at safety already had some strain on it. Brady Henderson of ESPN noted that after Nick Emmanwori’s ankle surgery in July, Seattle expected him back before the opener, but he has still not practiced fully. Rodney Thomas II also had hand surgery this week and did not play Sunday.
For a while, the Seahawks’ backups gave the night a very different feel. Seattle raced to a 16-3 first-quarter lead behind Drew Lock, who went 12 of 14 for 103 yards and threw a 36-yard touchdown to tight end Elijah Arroyo. Jacardia Wright added a 69-yard touchdown run and finished with 81 yards on eight carries, per CBS Sports.
The Titans chipped away and eventually pulled it out. Joey Slye drilled four field goals, including one from 55 yards, and D’Ernest Johnson scored on a 2-yard run with 5:45 left to complete the comeback.
Preseason results can be easy to shrug off. Losing a second-round safety with Clark’s kind of ball skills is not. He picked off 15 passes at TCU and brought versatility across the secondary, and now Seattle has to reshuffle its options behind Love and Okada.
Linebacker Connor O’Toole summed up the mood in the locker room, saying the injury “almost takes the life out of a game” and is “bigger than football.” Seattle will keep watching Clark’s recovery while turning the page to its preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.
In Other News...
Titans Bubble Players Just Changed The Roster Cut Debate
The Titans second preseason win, a 19-16 decision over the Seahawks, gave the coaching staff a little more to sort through as roster cuts approach on Aug. 30. In a game that often serves as a final audition for players on the bubble, a few names made their case while others left the kind of tape teams cant ignore.
Chester Rogers helped his standing with a promising outing, and Joey Slye also looked sharp in a role where every kick matters this time of year. On the other side of the ledger, Malik Willis and CorDale Flott did not help themselves, which is exactly the kind of uneven night that can turn a straightforward cut-down process into a much tougher debate for Tennessee. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Make A Late Camp Linebacker Move Worth Watching
The Titans are making another late-summer adjustment at linebacker, turning to Reid Carrico after placing Milo Eifler on injured reserve. Carrico arrives as an undrafted rookie who was recently waived by the Browns, and Tennessee is giving him a look at a time when every rep matters and roster spots are shrinking.
Carricos appeal is pretty straightforward for a team trying to sort through its depth: he showed some defensive ability in a brief stint with Cleveland, and he brought a solid college rsum to the table after transferring from Ohio State to West Virginia. Whether the Titans stash him on the practice squad or see enough to keep him in the mix for their rotation, this is the kind of move that can quietly shape the last days of camp. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Defense Gave Fans An Early Preseason Problem To Worry About
The Titans had little to feel good about on the defensive side of the ball in their second preseason game against the Seahawks, where the starters were on the field long enough to leave an early concern hanging over the rest of August. Tennessee went into halftime trailing 16-9, and all of the scoring came from Randy Bullocks steady work on field goals while the offense remained uneven, even if Malik Willis looked better than he did in the previous game.
The bigger worry was the way Seattles backup offense moved the ball against Tennessees starting defense, capped by two touchdowns and a 69-yard Jacardia Wright run that quickly made the rounds online. Treylon Burks still was looking for his first catch of the night, and while preseason results do not define a season, this was the sort of uneven defensive showing that can stick with a team for a while. [Read more 🡒]