Seahawks Could Lose Draft Pick Over Not Reporting Sherman Injury
The NFL has done it before, and sources at ESPN say it could happen again.
At first glance, reporting injuries and the status of players might seem a little ticky tacky, but the NFL believes in not hiding the ability of players to appear in games. It has to do with scouting reports, and they say it prevents teams from 'sandbagging' or using injury reports to 'mess' with other teams. Maybe listing a key player as questionable when they're not that bad, then they show up in the game--to the surprise to the other team. It also has to do with player's health, public knowledge so teams don't try to convince players to play when it could seriously hurt them, or the player themselves insisting on playing.
For whatever reasons, the NFL has been known to hand down punishments when teams fail to accurately report injuries each week. After the Seahawks season ended with the loss in the Divisional game to the Falcons, Coach Pete Carroll let it slip that Cornerback Richard Sherman had experienced a knee (MCL) injury near mid-season.
However, the team failed to report him, as they did Quarterback Russel Wilson and Tyler Lockett-prior to breaking his leg. Carroll, in two separate interviews, admitted Sherman did not appear on the injury report, but was given a number of 'rest' days on Fridays to help with the issue. Sherman's injury did not appear on any official NFL injury reports.
ESPN's Adam Schefter says the league has not decided conclusively what will be done, but he says sources indicate it won't be surprising if the league takes away the Seahawks' 2nd round pick in the 2017 Draft coming in April. Carroll reportedly admitted the reason for the omission was the threat that Sherman would miss game time. The reason for such a possible harsh punishment is because the omission lasted the entire last half of the season, as opposed to just missing one or maybe two reports.
According to sources, the admission was an accident, Carroll let it slip during an interview. But, it might not happen. Last season the league chose not to penalize the Colts for failing to disclose a certain injury to Quarterback Andrew Luck, although he did appear on the same report for a different less serious ailment.