Pete Carroll: Seahawks' Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril will have 'a hard time' playing again

Tom Schad | USA TODAY

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Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said in a radio interview Tuesday that defensive end Cliff Avril and safety Kam Chancellor will "have a hard time playing football again" after their season-ending neck injuries.

Carroll mentioned the two players when asked about roster turnover in an interview with 710 AM ESPN in Seattle.

"Cliff and Kam are going to have a hard time playing football again," Carroll said. "The jury's not out on that yet. They're going to decide that themselves. But it's going to be very difficult for those guys to come back and play again. That's just an indication of the kinds of things that we're going to be dealing with (this offseason)."

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Avril, who was named to the Pro Bowl in 2016, suffered the injury in Week 4 and subsequently experienced numbness in his hands, while Chancellor, one of the key figures in Seattle's "Legion of Boom" secondary, injured his neck in November. Both players were later placed on injured reserve, ending their 2017 seasons.

The departures of Avril and Chancellor could signal something of a defensive overhaul in Seattle, as they have been two of the Seahawks' defensive stalwarts over the past three-plus seasons. Avril joined the team in 2013, while Chancellor has been one of Seattle's star defensive backs since being drafted by the team in 2010.

Chancellor, 29, signed a three-year contract extension with the Seahawks in August, while Avril is due to make $7 million in base salary in 2018, the last year of his current deal.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

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