NFL teams
Terry Blount, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Kam Chancellor's new shoes are the answer

RENTON, Wash. -- The shoes were the solution, according to Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor.

Chancellor said his issue with ankle pain has been alleviated for now by changing the type of shoes he was wearing.

“It must be the high tops,” Chancellor said Tuesday after practice. “I was playing with low tops. I switched, well, maybe to more mid tops. But I have more support for my ankles.”

Chancellor said changing his shoes made him realize he could get by without undergoing surgery for bone spurs in his ankles, something he considered after struggling in Seattle's 30-21 loss at San Diego.

“Yeah, I was thinking about [surgery] before the Broncos game,” Chancellor said. “We found some ways to get around it and get better comfort. It feels better now. It’s feels good. No concerns at all.”

Chancellor had surgery for bone spurs in his ankles two years ago. The problem recently resurfaced.

“It just came back up," he said. “It started the Tuesday before that game [at San Diego]. It was hurting a little bit, but I didn’t want to talk about it because I’m not a guy to talk about pain or complain. So I went along with it and thought it would be OK by the time game time got here. But it wasn’t, unfortunately.”

Chancellor had one of the worst games of his career in the loss to the Chargers, when San Diego tight end Antonio Gates caught three touchdown passes.

“That’s football,” Chancellor said. “If you’re a man, you take your beatings like a man and you get back up to fight again. Of course it was stressful playing in pain like that, but it’s something that goes with football. Some of the best play with pain and beat people [while] in pain.”

Nevertheless, Chancellor knew something had to change.

“I talked to the trainers the next couple of days after that game,” he said. “I got some rest and adjusted the shoes. I went out to see how I felt on the grass in the shoes and it felt good.”

Chancellor, who also had offseason hip surgery and missed training camp this summer, played well in the next game with nine tackles and a big interception in the fourth quarter against Denver.

He thinks the issues with his ankles are something he can manage the rest of the season, thanks to the change in shoes.

“I manage everything during the season,” Chancellor said. “The way I play, I have to manage my whole body anyway. I get early treatment in the morning and get massages. I have to take care of my body so it’ll take care of me.”

Chancellor was asked why he didn’t recommend his new shoes to tight end Zach Miller, who opted to have ankle surgery last week to remove his bone spurs.

“That’s two different physiques,” Chancellor said, smiling. “He can’t support all that weight with the shoes I’ve got. He’s a big guy [6-foot-5, 260], but he took care of it and he’ll be back soon.”

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