Nick Emmanwori injured in Seahawks Super Bowl practice. What’s next for him

The Seahawks have a new issue four days before the Super Bowl.

The most dynamic player on the NFL’s top-ranked defense just got hurt.

How badly? That is to be determined.

Nick Emmanwori, a finalist for the NFL defensive rookie of the year to be announced Thursday night in San Francisco, injured his ankle late in the Seahawks’ practice for Super Bowl 60 Wednesday at San Jose State University.

League pool reporter Kalyn Kahler assigned by the Pro Football Writers Association reported Emmanwori hurt his ankle defending a pass in the latter portion of ther 1-hour, 50-minute practice. The pool report stated Emmanwori “walked off the field on his own shortly before 4 p.m.

“Several players and coaches went over to comfort him before he left,” the only journalist permitted into the closed practice reported.

“He had an ankle today, we brought him in to look at it, and we’ll kind of go from here and figure out, what are the next steps?” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. Emmanwori was likely getting treatment well into Wednesday night back at the team’s hotel in downtown San Jose.

This was the first practice the Seahawks had in pads in two weeks. They were in full pads for the first hour, then out of pads apparently when Emmanwori got hurt.

“We had an opportunity to work at a different practice window,” Macdonald said, according to the pool report after the practice. “Which I thought was great with our guys’ cadence. Lot of spirit. Guys did a great job. We had a great practice.”

The Seahawks continued installing their game plan for the title game Sunday against the New England Patriots nine miles up the freeway at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Macdonald told the pool reporter he reached out to coaches he’d worked with in the past to design the structure for last week and this week of practice. Much of Seattle’s game plan went in during the team’s practices Thursday, Friday and Saturday last week back home at its facility in Renton.

“We’re going to be evolving. We didn’t put the whole thing in last week,” Macdonald said. “We’re just gonna keep building it, stay on cadence this week and do what we need to do to feel like we get to a sweet spot by end of the week.”

Five Seahawks were limited in practice: Left tackle Charles Cross (foot), left tackle Josh Jones (ankle, knee), quarterback Sam Darnold (oblique), fullback Robbie Ouzts (neck) and, by the end, Emmanwori.

Darnold hasn’t thrown fully or participated fully in a practice since he injured oblique on his left, non-throwing side Jan. 15. That was two days before he started Seattle’s 41-6 win over San Francisco in the divisional round the playoffs. The Pro Bowl QB didn’t throw much before the Seahawks’ last game he won, either, the NFC championship Jan. 25 over the Los Angeles Rams.

“Sam’s right on schedule,” Macdonald told the pool reporter. “So we’ve had this plan here over the last X amount of weeks, and it varies every day. And today he had a great day, so we’re right on schedule.”

The Seahawks practice at San Jose State again Thursday at 2:15 p.m.