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Brady HendersonESPN
Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor, speaking publicly for the first time since he suffered a career-threatening neck injury last season, said he wants to continue playing if his health permits.
“If my body says I can play, I’m playing,” he told 13News Now in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, before repeating that line. “If my body says don’t play, I’m not playing. I’ll listen. I’m a very good listener.”
The 30-year-old Chancellor added: “I don’t see myself as old. I feel like I’m still in my prime, so it’s not an age thing at all. It’s just a matter of structural issues in the neck and if they change or not.”
Chancellor, a four-time Pro Bowler, missed the final seven games of last season after he was injured while making a tackle late in a November win over the Arizona Cardinals. He has yet to be cleared to resume playing football, and coach Pete Carroll had an ominous comment about Chancellor’s football future when he said at season’s end that Chancellor as well as defensive end Cliff Avril would “have a hard time playing football again.”
Avril, who also suffered a serious neck injury last season, was released by the Seahawks earlier this month with a failed-physical designation.
While updates from the team on Chancellor’s status have been infrequent, general manager John Schneider said before the draft that he was scheduled to have a scan in late June or early July that would provide some clarity to his future. In an apparent reference to that scheduled scan, Chancellor later wrote on Instagram, “After this exam, God will direct me on which way to go. He always has, always will. I listen, and I follow.”
With Chancellor’s future up in the air, Bradley McDougald is projected to start at safety for Seattle alongside Earl Thomas. Seattle signed McDougald to a three-year deal in March after he made seven starts for the team in 2017, including the final seven for Chancellor at strong safety.
Chancellor signed a three-year, $36 million extension last summer. His $6.8 million base salary for 2018 became fully guaranteed in February.
Chancellor’s comments came during his annual event in Norfolk, Bam Bam’s Spring Jam. According to the station, this year’s event raised $10,000 in scholarship money for his alma mater, Maury High School.
