Kam Chancellor, one of the most feared hitters in the game, is still having issues with his neck and it might end his career. The Seattle Seahawks can’t replace him.
The biggest potential loss suffered by the Seattle Seahawks is one that everyone seems to be overlooking. Strong safety Kam Chancellor suffered a neck injury last season that caused him to miss most of the second half of the season. Chancellor was put on IR and he is expected to miss the 2018 season because of the severity and type of injury, which may even be career ending.
Chancellor was drafted in the fifth round, 133rd overall, by the Seahawks in 2010. He became a starter in 2011 and has since made four Pro Bowls and was a key member of the Legion of Boom. After having him for seven years a starter, the Seahawks need to prepare for life without Chancellor, but he’ll be hard, if not impossible, to replace.
Many of his contributions are under appreciated and overlooked. For starters, Chancellor has provided the Seahawks with an athletic freak in the secondary. Listed at 6-3, 225 pounds. he’s like a linebacker playing safety. For reference, Chancellor’s teammate, Bobby Wagner, an All-Pro middle linebacker, is 6-0 and weighs 245 pounds. Big bodied safeties who have the agility to fly around the field are hot commodities in the modern NFL and Chancellor has been the best example since he became a starter.
Now imagine Chancellor charging at you downfield at top speed. That’s what the running backs on opposing teams have to deal with when facing him. He’s one of, if not the best, run stopping safety in the league who could plug holes in the defensive front effortlessly and possesses the shear mass and velocity to stop a running back in their tracks.
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He hasn’t been just tasked with stopping the run though. Chancellor has faced the challenges of guarding tight ends like Rob Gronkowski and slot receivers like Wes Welker throughout his career. Of course, he plays a lot of zone as well and lets his instincts take over. From zone positions he has snagged crucial interceptions and punished opposing receivers.
That’s been the best, and most important, part of Chancellor’s contributions to his team. He swings the momentum of games with fierce tackles and onslaughts against opponents. One big hit and the Seahawks bench and fans fill the stadium with cheers and shouts. His pension for pummeling tackles made Chancellor the enforcer of the Seahawks legendary defense and one of the most intimidating players in the game.
His ferocious play, combined with his sheer size and dark face mask, makes it look like he came into existence strait from a receiver’s nightmare, or maybe a defensive coordinator’s dream. Players, coordinators, and coaches are afraid of him.
Chancellor will undergo more tests on his neck over the summer and will make the decision about whether to continue playing or not based on the results. Fans can only pray that their beloved bludgeoning beast will be able to return to the team and man the secondary once again. The 30-year old safety is under contract until the end of the 2020 season.
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It speaks volumes that Chancellor was voted No. 75 on the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2018, despite only playing in nine games last year. It just goes to show the respect and fear that others have for him. Now the Seahawks, assuming the worst, have to be ready to replace him in the lineup, but it’s doubtful they’ll find anyone capable of replicating Chancellor’s impact.