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Brady HendersonESPN
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Pro Bowl free safety Quandre Diggs suffered a broken fibula and a dislocated ankle in the fourth quarter of the Seattle Seahawks' 38-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, per coach Pete Carroll.
Diggs, who's in the final year of his contract, was sobbing as he left the field on an injury cart with his right leg in an air cast. Cornerbacks D.J. Reed and Sidney Jones IV, among others, were visibly upset when he went down with around nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
"Gods plan is better than mine!" Diggs tweeted. "Thankful always! I appreciate the love and support and trust me I'll be back!"
Diggs' injured ankle was put back into place, Carroll said. He'll stay behind in Arizona along with wide receiver Tyler Lockett and some team staff members, per Carroll.
"Just a heartbreaker because everybody loves this guy so much because of who he is," Carroll said. "He is such an embedded leader, the character, the toughness, all of the stuff that he stands for, and guys just love this guy. So it crushed everybody, and it wasn't ignored in the fact of the way they finished. They finished for him. My heart is broken for him getting hurt like that, but he'll be back. He'll make it back. There's some months [of recovery], but he'll get back for the season next year. So that's the positive of it."
Diggs, 28, has arguably been the Seahawks' MVP this season with a team-high five interceptions. He was named the NFC's starting free safety last month in his second straight Pro Bowl selection.
Diggs wanted a new contract from the Seahawks this past offseason but did not get one. The team tweaked the final year of his current deal as a compromise. Diggs was briefly out of practice during training camp while finalizing an insurance policy, which he sought as financial protection in the absence of a new deal.
He had three tackles, including a tackle for loss, before he was hurt Sunday while closing on a ball carrier. The Seahawks were ahead 31-24 at the time.
"Right after Quandre got carted off, I kind of just gathered the defense around and said, 'We've got to finish for him,'" said second-year linebacker Jordyn Brooks, who finished with 20 tackles Sunday to break Bobby Wagner's single-season record of 170 set last month. "Anybody who knows Quandre knows he's a hell of a competitor. The guy cares so much. If it's anybody that's held me accountable this year, it's been Quandre. He's been like a second coach on the field for me. So it sucks seeing him go down and that just made everybody kind of fight a little bit harder towards the end."
New England Patriots safety Adrian Phillips became emotional while talking to reporters about Diggs, his former teammate at the University of Texas.
The scene with Diggs on Sunday was somewhat reminiscent of what happened in 2018 with Earl Thomas, his predecessor at free safety. Thomas, who had sought a new deal from the Seahawks that offseason and didn't get one, broke a leg at State Farm Stadium in Week 4.
Diggs' injury cast a pall over what was otherwise a feel-good win for the Seahawks, who had long been eliminated from playoff contention and closed out a disappointing season by beating a playoff-bound division rival in their building. The Seahawks finished 7-10, suffering double-digit losses for the first time since 2009.
Concerned teammates gathered around Diggs before he was carted off. Replays showed Reed in tears.
"How do you come back from that?" Carroll said. "But they did. It just showed you the resolve, also the commitment to Q and how much they love him and they weren't going to let this thing get away. We had a huge finish to this game, a huge finish. Pass-rush at the finish, running the football to run the clock out and win the game. All of the stuff that we were able to do, it just doesn't look like a team that has a record we got."
Lockett, who's been a close friend of Diggs since before the Seahawks acquired the safety in a 2019 trade with the Detroit Lions, asked Carroll for permission to stay behind.
"Very, very unfortunate," said Lockett, who broke a leg late in the 2016 season. "Really, really sad. When you just look at the position of being able to go to free agency and all that stuff, [after] being able to play the whole entire season all the way up to this point. It just sucks, to be honest. That's just something that just happens in the game of football. They always tell you that it's 100% injury [rate]. You just never know when something is going to happen to you and you just pray that nothing like that does happen to you. So all we can really do is be there for him, love him, support him during his journey of being able to recover and get back, and that's something that I'm definitely going to do."
Quarterback Russell Wilson said he talked to Diggs.
"Just to see the pain and the hurt, I think is heavy," Wilson said. "I know he's played at such a high level all year. He's been the MVP of our season, just how he's played. I don't think anybody has played any better across the league at that position. I know he's a guy that deserves to get paid the right way. He's a guy that deserves to get all the accolades."
Wilson commended Diggs for the way he "brought it every day" and remained committed despite his contract situation.
"I know this one hurts for him, but he'll be back" Wilson said. "He'll be back, better than ever."
ESPN Patriots reporter Mike Reiss contributed to this report.
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Seattle Seahawks free safety Quandre Diggs carted off after breaking right fibula and dislocating ankle - ESPN
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