The Seattle Seahawks’ secondary experienced its share of injuries towards the latter part of the 2014 season. However, the team’s mighty “Legion of Boom” gritted its teeth and managed to play through the injuries prior to falling short to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
All-Pro Safety Kam Chancellor is one of those who toughed it out and played with a torn MCL in the championship game. It was originally reported that Chancellor might need surgery to repair his knee after the big game, however, that was not the case. Just two weeks after the Super Bowl, Chancellor began training and now claims he feels completely healthy.
“I feel great,” Chancellor said, via ESPN. “I feel back to football form. I feel fast, feel strong. I just feel good out there. I started training two weeks after the Super Bowl, and two weeks after that, I started feeling back to normal again. It was a miracle.”
In addition to Chancellor, Richard Sherman played through an elbow injury he suffered in NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers. Similar to Chancellor’s case, it was reported that Sherman may need Tommy John surgery to repair his elbow. Sherman opted not to have surgery.
Sherman is not 100 percent yet, but he is progressing:
“It’s doing a lot better. Obviously, scar tissue is still there, but my mobility is there. I have a lot more strength in my extension than I had at the end of last season. It just comes down to time to get the scar tissue more flexible than it was.”
Lastly, four-time Pro-Bowl safety Earl Thomas managed to play with a dinged up shoulder for which he underwent surgery in February. Still healing, Thomas surprised some when he recently showed up to Seahawks’ OTA’s and participated in a few drills. While this is a positive sign, the team would be wise to tread lightly with Thomas over the summer.
Head coach Pete Carroll commented on Thomas’ recovery thus far:
“He looks great. They’re really fired up about his return and the rehab work he’s done already. So it looks like it should be no problem. We’ll have to wait and see once he gets back out there.”
The obvious question stands. Would the outcome of Super Bowl XLIX have been different if some of the Seahawks’ key defensive players had not been hampered by injuries? That is obviously a question that can’t really be answered. All that remains is for the Seahawks to move forward and focus on the upcoming season.
Sherman summed up the situation perfectly:
“We’ll be able to go back healthier and wiser. Every year you grow wiser in the game and more mature.”
It appears Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” is on course to recover from these myriad injuries and help the team repeat as conference champs in 2015.
Photo: USA Today Sports