The Seattle Seahawks have released both wide receiver Doug Baldwin and safety Kam Chancellor after sustaining injuries that have plagued the duo and may have ended both of their NFL careers.
Kam Chancellor suffered a neck injury in Arizona on November 9, 2017, and has been suffering from spinal stenosis since. Chancellor’s release shouldn’t come as a surprise to many, as he sat out all of the 2018 NFL season and had practically announced his retirement with a social media post on July 1, 2018.
Chancellor ends his career with over 600 tackles and 12 interceptions in his seven-year career with the Seattle Seahawks. Chancellor was one of the last remaining members of Seattle’s “Legion of Boom”, the name of the Seahawks hard-hitting, ball-hawking defense who defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Doug Baldwin has been dealing with a slew of injuries over the last few seasons, including knee, groin and shoulder injuries just in 2018. Baldwin was Seattle’s “Iron Man” as he continuously fought through injuries and ended his 2018 campaign with 600 yards and five touchdowns through 13 games. The 30-year old Baldwin may also have his career ended by injury, as he talked about stepping away from the game before the news of the failed physicals.
In this year’s draft, Seattle selected D.K. Metcalf, wide receiver out Ole Miss, keeping in mind Baldwin’s uncertain status. Metcalf was drafted to be Baldwins replacement, as Baldwin was Seattle’s speedy deep threat who averaged 13.3 yards per catch over his career as well as a 68 percent catch rate. While Baldwin has not made a concrete decision as to if he is going to play again, being cut due to a failed physical puts a damper on any kind of comeback.
If this is the end of Baldwin in Seattle, he will go down as one of the franchise’s most exciting wide receivers to watch in recent memory.
