The Seattle Seahawks surrendered a game-tying touchdown with less than a minute remaining in regulation, and the defensive back who St. Louis Rams tight end Lance Kendricks burned on the play was none other than Kam Chancellor’s replacement.
Nevertheless, per Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, head coach Pete Carroll said on ESPN 710 that how the team ultimately lost won’t affect the current negotiations with the second team All-Pro safety.
“No, I mean, there is not much going on right now. It’s pretty quiet. … I don’t see the players talk about it at all. It’s pretty obvious he’s a terrific football player, a big part of our team. But the fact is we don’t have him—we have to go with it.”
Dion Bailey will occupy Chancellor’s spot for now, but his 2015 season didn’t start on a high note. Bailey slipped while tracking Kendricks, and the Rams eventually won 34-31 in overtime.
Down by seven.
Less than a minute left.
Nick Foles + Lance Kendricks = 37-yard game-tying TD! #SEAvsSTL http://t.co/wJjpQVNXfq— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2015
It’s possible Chancellor wouldn’t have allowed that pass to be completed, but the simple fact is he’s not there, it happened and the Seahawks are now 0-1.
Seattle is preparing for a rematch of the 2015 NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers, and the Chancellor-less secondary has a small reprieve since Jordy Nelson is sidelined due to an ACL tear.
However, Eddie Lacy and the Packers running game can be more dangerous since Chancellor isn’t there to contain the physical back. Chancellor racked up 16 tackles during the two meetings last season.
The Seahawks must rely on a strong defensive front and linebacker Bobby Wagner to silence Lacy, all while hoping the secondary can limit Green Bay’s still-respectable unit of receivers. Keeping Randall Cobb and Davante Adams as quiet as Chancellor’s contract talks will be quite difficult.