Seahawks S Nick Emmanwori passes physical

The Seattle Seahawks announced Tuesday that safety Nick Emmanwori passed his physical, a notable step forward after he underwent ankle surgery last month and began training camp on the physically unable to perform list.

Emmanwori sustained the injury prior to Super Bowl LX, however he was able to play in the Seahawks' 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots.

"I think the best way to describe it is something that he's been dealing with since the Super Bowl, he was able to perform, like able to train, do some things in the offseason program, but just got to the point where it was the best for him for the long term, just to go ahead and get it fixed," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said at the beginning of training camp. "And so that's what we all decided to do. It's really the best thing for him, for now and the foreseeable future, for the rest of his career."

Emmanwori, 22, missed the majority of his first four games of his rookie season after sustaining an ankle injury in the opener.

He fared well in his return, finishing with 81 tackles -- nine for loss -- 2.5 sacks and one interception in 14 games (11 starts) since being selected by the Seahawks in the second round out of South Carolina. He finished second in voting for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.