GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Nick Emmanwori saw his first action of the season in Sunday's 31-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals after sitting out the season opener due to an ankle injury that required surgery before training camp.
The Seahawks second-year safety expanded on his journey back to the field after making his 2026 debut in Week 2.
"Ultimately it was just trying to figure out what was the best thing to do," Emmanwori said after the victory. "Whether it was going to heal on its own. It was just like a whole weird situation and I thought it was really good, but turned out it was just the best decision to knock it out so I can be good early in the season, like right now."
The decision for him to undergo surgery came after his participation in Seattle's offseason program. Emmanwori was then forced to watch from the sidelines as Seattle's Super Bowl-winning defense prepared to defend its title this summer.
"It was a weird thing where some days it was feeling 100 percent, some days it wasn't, so it was kind of tricky," he said. "Some days I felt like me, some days I wasn't. So I just made a decision just to go ahead and trust the doctors, trust his plan and stuff and go ahead and go with it."
Emmanwori didn't have a splashy return, in part because he was playing on limited snaps, but the second-year safety used Sunday to get back in the routine of a game day.
"It felt good to be out there," Emmanwori said. "I was on a snap count coming into my first game. It was good to get back out there with the guys. They were out there spinning. [I was] getting my feet back wet."
He added, "Once I was out there, things felt a little new, but once I made a few plays, I was good."
Emmanwori logged one tackle in the win, an effort which kept Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love to just 29 rushing yards.
"It felt good to get that one tackle," he said. "It was a pretty good tackle, too. I'm just glad to be back out there. .. I think I played good. Everything I did, I was attentive. I was ready for the game plan."
The original plan for Sunday was for Emmanwori to play more, but expect to see him as he becomes more acclimated.
"We had a plan for him to come back," head coach Mike Macdonald said. "He was able to play more plays, but the way we wanted to play him -- I think it came out to like, six or eight plays -- it was great for him to get the confidence back, get him moving. He got a couple of rushes in, which was cool. We should be really accelerating it into next week."
Emmanwori indicated that will indeed be the case going forward, and for a Seahawks defense that is already playing at high level with two wins to begin the 2026 season, things are trending upward for The Dark Side.
"Going forward [I'm] looking to being out there with them, every play, every game," Emmanwori said.
The Seahawks are on the road in Week 3 to face the Washington Commanders.
