At first glance, the Seattle Seahawks’ first injury report of Super Bowl week looks almost ideal. No absences. No sudden setbacks. No panic. For a team four days away from the biggest game of the season, that alone feels like a small victory.
But injury reports at this stage of the calendar are rarely about what’s obvious. They’re about what’s being managed, delayed, or quietly protected.
Seattle took the field for its first Super Bowl practice with limited pads, easing into a week where preservation matters more than volume.
Coming off three mostly encouraging injury reports last week, the expectation was stability — and that’s largely what showed up. Still, a couple of subtle changes over the weekend reshaped the picture just enough to warrant attention.
Left tackle Amari Kight was placed on injured reserve after missing two weeks of practice and the NFC Championship Game.
As a third-string option, his absence isn’t expected to impact game-day plans, especially with Charles Cross and Josh Jones trending toward full availability. But it does underscore the reality that depth matters less in February — until it suddenly doesn’t.
More notable was the activation of linebacker Chazz Surratt off injured reserve, the Seahawks’ final activation of the season. On paper, it adds flexibility.
In practice, it feels more precautionary than urgent. Surratt has likely been healthy for weeks, and if he suits up Sunday, it may be primarily on special teams. His return signals readiness, not reliance.
Then there’s the nuance inside the participation designations.
Several high-profile names — DeMarcus Lawrence, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Leonard Williams — were given rest days. At this point in the season, those designations are more about trust than concern. Seattle knows what it has in them, and there’s little incentive to push.
The full participant list was far more reassuring. Jake Bobo, Ernest Jones, Julian Love, Brady Russell, Eric Saubert, and Drake Thomas all practiced without restriction.
For the linebacker group in particular, that’s significant. Having both starters trending clean removes one of the bigger unknowns heading into Sunday.
The limited group, however, is where the real reading between the lines begins.
Charles Cross (foot), Sam Darnold (oblique), Nick Emmanwori (ankle), and Josh Jones (ankle, knee) were all listed as limited. For Cross, Jones, and Darnold, that’s not new — all three were considered playable even last week. The designation feels more like maintenance than alarm.
Emmanwori’s ankle injury, though, is new. That alone is enough to register, even if there’s no indication it’s serious.
New injuries this late in the season rarely improve with attention — they improve with time. And time is exactly what teams don’t have in Super Bowl week.
One name stands out more than the rest: Robbie Ouzts.
Officially, he was listed as limited with a neck injury. Unofficially, there’s uncertainty. Ouzts has been limited for weeks, including two weeks ago when he still ended up inactive against the Rams.
The phrase used internally — that the injury needs to “calm down” — hasn’t yet been followed by confirmation that it has.
That ambiguity matters.
The most important takeaway, though, is what didn’t happen.
No Seahawk missed practice outright. Not a single one. That’s rare this time of year, and it gives Seattle maximum optionality heading into game day.
Outside of players already on injured reserve, the coaching staff appears to have a full deck to choose from.
Which brings the focus back to strategy rather than survival.
This injury report doesn’t scream danger. It doesn’t wave red flags. But it does remind us that Super Bowl health is less about perfection and more about control.
Load management, caution, and silence are often signs of confidence — but also of awareness.
The Seahawks look ready.
The question now is whether what’s being managed quietly stays that way once the lights come on.
Because in the Super Bowl, even small things have a way of getting very loud.
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