Seahawks rookie Nick Emmanwori exits practice in potential Super Bowl 2026 injury worry

The Seahawks may have a wounded bird on their hands.

Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori suffered an ankle injury on Wednesday during the Seahawks’ first practice of Super Bowl week at San Jose State University, a pool report published by the Pro Football Writers of America revealed.

Emmanwori, 21, was listed as limited, and the pool report noted he had hurt his ankle late in practice while defending a pass. 

The report also indicated that Emmanwori left the field under his own power shortly before 4 p.m. local time and that “several players and coaches went over to comfort him before he left.”

NFL Network reported Emmanwori will undergo imaging.

“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,” head coach Mike Macdonald told the pool reporter. 

Emmanwori had an immediate impact with the Seahawks this season after he was taken with the 35th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

The rookie had 81 tackles, 2.5 sacks and one interception during the regular season and eight tackles during the postseason run. 

According to NextGenStats, Emmanwori faced 54 zone coverage targets without allowing a touchdown, which was the most among all nickels and safeties in the NFL.

“It was just the players around me and the personal goals I had for myself coming in,” Emmanwori told NFL Network earlier on Wednesday. “Just from Day 1 from camp I knew I wanted to make an immediate impact. I couldn’t wait to show my teammates, I couldn’t wait to show the NFL what type of player I was. Especially falling into the second round, I just had a mindset of, like, it’s on.

“But even then, I think Mike and [the team] did a great job and just had a plan. My goals and their plans just mesh well to make one whole thing.”