Seahawks’ Kam Chancellor Likely Done For Season

The Seahawks have lost another key member of their secondary. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via the GMFB Twitter), strong safety Kam Chancellor is likely to miss the rest of the season. The veteran suffered a neck injury during last week’s game against the Cardinals. There was seemingly some optimism that Chancellor’s season wouldn’t be compromised, as coach Pete Carroll noted earlier this week.

“We’ll find out,” Carroll said on 710 ESPN (via Curtis Crabtree of ProFootballTalk.com). “We don’t know yet. He had a stinger thing that happened during the game and we’re going to have to make sure he’s in good shape and he’s OK. Don’t know right now. He’s going to get some tests and make sure. This is stuff that is so crucial that we do a really good job and take our time with and all that. We’re doing that.”

Chancellor, 29, has been a mainstay on the Seahawks defense since 2010. The four-time Pro Bowler was having another productive season in 2017, compiling 49 tackles and a pair of passes defended in nine games. Pro Football Focus has been particularly fond of his 2017 performance, ranking him sixth among 86 eligible safety candidates. Chancellor has missed a handful of games over the past several seasons, including nine regular season contests between 2015 and 2016. The defensive back inked a lucrative three-year, $36MM extension ($25MM guarantee) with the organization prior to this season.

Assuming Chancellor lands on the injured reserve, he’ll be joining fellow defensive back Richard Sherman, who is out with an achilles injury. Fortunately, the team should be seeing some reinforcement on the unit, as Earl Thomas is set to return to the lineup after missing a pair of games with a hamstring injury. The team will presumably turn to their grouping of backup safeties, including Bradley McDougald, Delano Hill, and Tedric Thompson, to fill in for Chancellor.