Seattle Seahawks Kam Chancellor almost needed surgery

It was a bit weird to see San Diego Chargers veteran tight end Antonio Gates look so great in a three-touchdown performance against the Seattle Seahawks last week, because the Seahawks are actually the best team in the league at stopping star tight ends. It’s amazing how quickly people forgot the Seahawks dominance against star tight ends last season, as Kam Chancellor and an elite group of linebackers stifled Tony Gonzalez, Vernon Davis, THE Jimmy Graham, and, yes, Julius Thomas last season, with three of those performances coming in the playoffs. And yet, people took one week of dominance from Gates in a game that showcased anomalies in coverage from Chancellor, Malcolm Smith, and Co., and they decided that a sample-size of one was more indicative than a sample-size of many (I almost became one of those people, but I quickly corrected myself on gameday, as you can see in the above tweet).

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So why did Chancellor and the Seahawks struggle against Gates last week? Well, we have an answer, and it’s “injury”. Per a source close to FOX Sports’s Mike Garafolo, Chancellor actually suffered a “painful ankle injury” that was significantly worse than indicated on the injury report (he was only listed probable), and the Seahawks were prepared to take him in for surgery to remove bone spurs in his ankle.

Had he underwent the procedure, Chancellor would have missed six-to-eight weeks, but the Seahawks would have held off on the procedure until the bye week, meaning that he would have played against the Denver Broncos anyway.

Well, the great news is that Garafolo reports that Chancellor doesn’t need surgery, and he added that his ankle felt “great”. He was his usual, dominant self, making plays all over the place yesterday in a huge performance that included a pick and a forced fumble. He and Earl Thomas are the envy of just about every team in this league.