The Seattle Seahawks are expected to have Nick Emmanwori available for Sunday's Super Bowl despite a late injury scare for the star defender.
The second-round rookie nickel limped off at practice on Wednesday after suffering an ankle injury, leaving Seahawks fans with an anxious overnight wait just days out from their Super Bowl 60 showdown with the New England Patriots in Santa Clara, California.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was able to see the lighter side on Thursday, joking of the inevitable opening question to his press conference.
"There's no way the first question is about Nick, is it?," he said.
"He rolled his ankle yesterday, has a low ankle sprain. Not sure how extensive. He's confident, we fully expect him to play.
"He's doing great, just got to make sure we handle it the right way. Probably have to be overly-careful and over-cautious."
Emmanwori has asserted himself as one of the most valuable and versatile cogs to Macdonald's shape-shifting defense across the second half of the season.
He would spread his time across safety, nickel, corner, linebacker and even edge rusher as Seatte's new prized chesspiece, recording 81 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one interception and 11 pass break-ups during the regular season before managing a fumble recovery and four pass defenses in the playoffs.
"I expect to play on Sunday. Feel good," Emmanwori told reporters on Thursday.
The Seahawks selected Emmanwori with the 35th overall pick out of South Carolina last year, his arrival immediately prompting comparisons to Macdonald's multi-purpose use of Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton.
Emmanwori's impact was modest over the first half of the season, before he erupted down the stretch and delivered standout performances against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18 and then against the Los Angeles Rams at the NFC Championship Game.
"He got better every game," said cornerback Devon Witherspoon earlier this week. "He can do everything. He's still buying in. For a rookie to come in and play like a vet, you can't ask for much more than that. He's one of one.
"The guy can blitz, he can take on tackles, set the edge, blitz through the B-gap, I mean, literally the guy can do anything. He can cover the slot, cover the tight end. Everything you want him to do, he can do. When we've got our guy out there, it's kind of hard to game plan against him."
Watch the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California this Sunday, with coverage under way at 10pm live on Your Site NFL ahead of kick-off at approximately 11.30pm. or .
