NFL to investigate Seattle Seahawks reporting of Richard Sherman injury

The Seattle Seahawks routinely push the envelope, and a recent oversight may put them in hot water with the NFL.

The Seattle Seahawks had their season end with a 36-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons last Saturday, so now they’re left to evaluate what went wrong. During a radio appearance on Monday, head coach Pete Carroll offered the following injury revelation.

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Apparently, cornerback Richard Sherman played the second half of this season with a “significant” MCL injury, and Carroll also acknowledged it was never disclosed on any injury report. In a session with assembled media later on Monday, Carroll tried to back track a bit.

“I didn’t realize that we hadn’t even revealed it,” Carroll told reporters, via the transcript generated by the team. “I don’t even remember what game it was, it was somewhere in the middle, he was fine about it, he didn’t miss anything. Same with Russell [Wilson], he was fine about it. I don’t know how they do that, but they did.”

The Seahawks have been punished by the league for violations of offseason workout limits in two of the last three offseasons, so breaking the rules is not new for them. The NFL also treats the injury report has fairly sacred, due in equal parts to competitive and business concerns. That obviously doesn’t stop teams from being less than forthright, or offering misdirection, regarding injuries. But blatantly not listing an injured player on any injury report at all, be it daily regarding practice status or a final one each week, is a step too far.

On that note, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network is reporting the NFL will look into the situation with the Seahawks and the reporting of Sherman’s knee injury.

The @NFL is now looking into the #Seahawks situation on Richard Sherman’s MCL, and Pete Carroll noting that he wasn’t on the Injury Report.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 17, 2017

With Carroll openly admitting Sherman’s injury was never disclosed, then pleading ignorance about when it happened and not realizing it was never revealed, it seems like a cut-and-dry matter from the NFL’s perspective. The exact punishment is unclear, with no known precedent, but the loss of a draft pick seems likely for the Seahawks if a penalty comes.