Seattle Seahawks DE Chris Clemons could have torn ACL

By Gil Alcaraz IV
Chris Clemons
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Although the Seattle Seahawks didn’t lose their quarterback on Sunday in their Wild Card Round victory over the Washington Redskins, they might have lost their top pass-rusher.

Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons went down during Sunday’s showdown, and it’s believed that the veteran pass-rusher could have a torn ACL. Clemons will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the injury, although hopes aren’t high that he’ll get off easy.

Seattle head coach Pete Carroll acknowledged after the game that the team is worried about their defensive end’s knee after Clemons went down in the fourth quarter. Others are disappointed to see his season end this way.

“It’s a shame,” Clemons’ agent Donal Henderson told Ian Rapaport of NFL.com. “He’s worked so hard to get there.”

Assuming the MRI shows that it is, in fact, an ACL tear, Clemons will undergo surgery in the next few days in order to repair the damaged ligament. If that’s the case, it’s unlikely that Clemons will be ready to go when Seahawks training camp starts up in the Spring.

With a Divisional Round battle with the Atlanta Falcons on the horizon, the Seahawks will have to rely heavily on rookie speed rusher Bruce Irvin to make up for the loss of Clemons. It’s not ideal, but there won’t be too much ground lost considering that the 2012 first-round pick notched eight sacks in his first NFL season.

Clemons is coming off another huge campaign as one of the NFL’s most underrated defensive ends. Unfortunately, chances are that he’ll have to watch from the sidelines as his team tries to not let his hard work go to waste.

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