Late last week I had mentioned how the Seattle Seahawks’ All-Pro safety Kam Chancellor had one of the worst games of his career against Antonio Gates and the San Diego Chargers, and now we know exactly why. News has come out that Chancellor is dealing with a serious case of bone spurs in his foot/ankle.
The pain was apparently so bad during the game against the Chargers that the Hawks came up with a plan for Chancellor to undergo surgery during the bye week following the game against the Denver Broncos.
Kam Chancellor nursing bone spurs in his ankle http://t.co/RRhG3HeZao
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 23, 2014
How quickly things can change.
Against the Chargers, Chancellor was slow and out of place, and he failed to make his physical presence known. It was weird. However, the enforcer was back in style against the Broncos only a week later. Chancellor finished the game with nine tackles, a forced fumble and a game-changing interception. He was good enough, and more importantly, felt good enough to forgo surgery.
The Seahawks decided to try to fix the issue head-on before sending Chancellor to surgery. Chancellor expressed that the team worked hard to fix his ankle issues, taped it a little differently and also used a different pair of shoes that went a long ways towards comforting the bone spurs in his ankle. After the game against Denver, Chancellor had expressed that his ankle felt “great,” which is a positive sign for the Legion of Boom, which would rather not be without their enforcer for any extended amount of time.
The last thing Chancellor wants is to have surgery, which would put him out for 6-8 weeks. The original plan was to return on Thanksgiving Day against the San Francisco 49ers, but now that has been put on hold. The risk, however, is something that will keep the Seahawks on pins and needles.
If the pain comes back and Chancellor is left with no choice but to have surgery, then the inevitable has simply been delayed and the Hawks could potentially lose one of their best players down the stretch — and the playoffs possibly, should they make it. That would be a killer blow towards the Seahawks’ hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champions.
The truth of the matter is that it is a gamble no matter what. If the Hawks put Chancellor under the knife now, despite the fact that he felt great and played to his ability against the Broncos, then he would miss the softer part of the schedule and Seattle would at least be getting him back down the stretch when they face the Niners (twice), Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles. However, if Chancellor feels as good as he did against Denver for the remainder of the season, then the decision to avoid surgery is obviously a great one. Only time will tell if this was the best decision for Chancellor and the Seahawks.
Tyson Sweet is a Seattle Seahawks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @The12thDude, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google!
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