Ryan Neal, the Seahawks’ safety, will return to the field for Saturday’s Wild Card game against the 49ers. Neal missed the previous three games due to a knee injury, but he practiced all week and was not listed as out for Saturday. Neal started 10 of the 14 games he played in before suffering an injury, and he finished the season with 66 tackles, a sack, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
Neal injured his knee in Seattle’s Week 13 victory over the Rams and was able to play through it for two games, but the short turnaround before Seattle’s Week 15 game against the 49ers caused the issue, which Carroll classified as bursitis, to deteriorate, forcing Neal to take some time off.
Neal was back at practice this week and couldn’t hold back his excitement. “I am (expletive) exciting to get back on the field,” Neal said. “I’ve been waiting forever. It has been (expletive) painful watching my boys go out there and have fun without me. I’m glad to be back here, man, just trying to make my way back.” Asked how he was feeling, Neal added, “(Shoot), I’m ready to rock and roll man. Hell yeah, I’m ready to rock and roll, ready to give it whatever I’ve got. We made it in, so it’s all hands on deck from here on out.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll further affirmed, “He’s back and ready to go. He’s been a real active part of what we do, a great spirit in what we do, and I’m really happy he’ll get back. We’ll have a nice little rotation there at that spot if he makes it all the way.”
