Scarcely a week into training camp in 2026, and at least five significant NFL players have suffered season-ending injuries. Atlanta just lost edge rusher Jalon Walker to a torn ACL. He joins the Saints' Brian Bresee and San Francisco 's Ricky Pearsall on the season-ending injured list. Carolina has suffered two losses - ascending edge rusher Nic Scourton and rookie receiver Chris Brazzell.
So far, the Seahawks have been immune to any kind of serious injury. They no doubt have some concern about how quickly Nick Emmanwori will return from ankle surgery, but it was not a season-ending camp injury. The last time that happened to the Seahawks was just about a year ago when reserve running back Kenny McIntosh tore his ACL.
The rash of early injuries did get me thinking, perhaps a bit morbidly, about which players the Seahawks could least afford to lose this year.
General manager John Schneider has constructed such a deep and talented roster that the defense could lose a player like Julian Love for half the year in 2025 and remain the Dark Side. But no matter how good your depth is, some losses would be very hard to overcome.
One note: I'm leaving Sam Darnold off this list. Like any quarterback, he is a given. On almost every team in the NFL, the starting quarterback is the most important player on the roster. There are a few exceptions, usually on bad teams with pedestrian play from all the QBs. Or perhaps on a team like Las Vegas this year, with a good veteran and prized rookie in competition for the job.
So yes, there are exceptions. But not in most cases, and despite the security provided by Drew Lock , Seattle is no exception. So we will just say Sam Darnold is the player Seattle can least afford to lose without further explanation and move on.
Jadarian Price is not the fifth (or sixth) best player on Seattle. Far from it. But with Zach Charbonnet 's health in question and decent-but-unspectacular reserves after him, Price's presence is more crucial than some better players.
Brian Fleury may have a few tricks up his sleeve, allowing speed burners like Rashid Shaheed or Jalen Milroe the chance to run with the ball out of the backfield. But those will be gimmick plays. If the Seahawks are going to break any big runs this year, they will almost certainly come courtesy of the rookie first-round pick.
Price is the one runner who can keep an opponent's defense on its heels, and that makes the entire offense better. If he is hurt, the Seahawks don't really have any answer.
Witherspoon was the highest-rated cornerback in the league last season according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). His versatility, his intelligence, and his toughness make him almost the equivalent of two players in one.
Spoon is probably best suited to play the slot, where he can get in the middle of every play. But he can easily shift to the perimeter if needed. Or he can drop into deep coverage. And he has proven to be a devastating blitzer when coming off the edge.
Mike Macdonald prizes that versatility and takes full advantage, keeping opposing quarterbacks constantly off balance.
Speaking of versatility... The runner-up in DROY balloting last season, Emmanwori's rare blend of size and speed makes him a genuine unicorn. Whereas Witherspoon can be effective as a surprise blitzer, Emmanwori - nominally a safety - can line up on the edge, announce his intentions to attack, and then flat-out beat an NFL tackle. He will run around tight ends and through running backs.
Of course, he can also cover in the flat or across the middle. Though his deep coverage is a work in progress, no one would be surprised if he significantly improves in his second year.
Seattle has a lot of gifted athletes playing behind him, but Emmanwori, especially when paired with Witherspoon, makes Seattle's secondary virtually unstoppable.
Until last season, he didn't get the plaudits of bigger names like Leonard Williams or Demarcus Lawrence . But Ernest Jones IV has been the heart and soul of the Dark Side defense since being rescued from purgatory in Tennessee midway through the 2024 season.
He runs the defense. He makes the lion's share of tackles. And, as he proved last season in defense of Sam Darnold, he is a clear leader on a team of highly accomplished men. As with the defenders already mentioned, Seattle has good depth behind Jones, but he would be very hard to replace.
(Note: I just mentioned Leonard Williams, who is one of the best players in the NFL. He is not on this list. Nor is fellow interior lineman Byron Murphy II. This truly is a case where depth matters. With two elite interior linemen and with quality players like Jarran Reed and Rylie Mills behind them, losing a player like Williams would clearly hurt, but the chances of overcoming that loss would be good.)
This is the one player Seattle simply cannot replace. Maybe even more so than Sam Darnold. JSN accounted for an overwhelming proportion of Seattle's passing attack last season. No team relied on a single receiver to the extent that Seattle relied on the reigning Offensive Player of the Year.
JSN can run every pattern. He is both a technician and a lightning-fast game-breaker. He opens up the field for everything Seattle wants to do on offense. That is an impossible player to replace.
Hopefully, by calling all of this out in public, I am forestalling any of it from actually happening and not tempting fate. I guess we'll find out soon enough.
This article was originally published on www.12thmanrising.com as 5 players the Seattle Seahawks can least afford to lose (plus one obvious bonus) .
