Head coach Pete Carroll said Monday that safety Kam Chancellor being able to play in Super Bowl XLIX was “super human stuff.”
Now we know why.
According to the team’s website, Chancellor said he has a torn MCL and a bone bruise in his knee suffered during a fall during practice on Friday. Peter King of Sports Illustrated was the pool reporter for Seattle’s Friday practice in Arizona and said Chancellor fell and missed the final play of practice with a wrap on his injured knee.
Despite being listed as probable to play, Chancellor’s injury appears to have been more serious than initially thought.
“Shoot, my injury happened two days before the game and they told me I wasn’t going to be able to play,” Chancellor said. “They told me, ‘Torn MCL and bone bruise.’ I was mad. I was frustrated. But at the end of the day, I was able to play.”
Chancellor managed 10 tackles despite the injury for Seattle in the loss to the Patriots.
Earl Thomas was playing with a labrum injury from a dislocated shoulder and Richard Sherman had torn ligaments in his elbow. Jeremy Lane then suffered a broken arm in the first quarter, leaving four of Seattle’s defensive backs injured.
“It was an extraordinary effort from guys that played through unbelievable issues and you didn’t even know it during the game,” Carroll said. “For Earl and Sherm to make it through this game and play and have the problems they have is one thing notable. For Kam Chancellor to play in this game, it’s like super human stuff. He shouldn’t have been able to go.”
