Bud Clark Injury: Broken Ankle, Out Multiple Months

Bud Clark injury news landed before the Seahawks even got a second defensive snap. The rookie safety broke his right ankle on Seattle's first defensive play Sunday night in Nashville, trainers put him in an air cast, and he was carted off. Coach Mike Macdonald said after the 19-16 preseason loss to the Titans that Clark will miss multiple months. The Associated Press, Seahawks.com, ESPN's Brady Henderson, and the Spokesman-Review all had the same diagnosis and the same timeline. Severity of the break is not fully specified.

Clark is a safety, not a linebacker. The AP headline called him a rookie LB. The team site and ESPN listed him at safety, which is the position Seattle drafted. He was the 2026 second-round pick, 64th overall, out of TCU. He had been working with the second team and started Sunday because the starters sat. That first snap was his first defensive play of the night. It ended the night.

Bud Clark injury: first snap, air cast, multiple months

"Bud has a broken ankle to my knowledge, the severity I'm not sure, but he's going to be out multiple months," Macdonald said, Seahawks.com printed. The Spokesman-Review had Clark coming up to tackle Titans running back Tony Pollard on Tennessee's first offensive play. Players from both teams came to him before the cart. Macdonald said he was able to meet Clark at halftime. Linebacker Connor O'Toole called it the kind of play that takes the life out of a game.

"Just to know what he's going to go through and the pain that he's in, it's just bigger than football at that point I feel like," O'Toole told the AP. "And your heart breaks for your brother, so it takes a minute to regroup as a team. We just lift him up and he'll be in our prayers." The Spokesman-Review had the same heartbreak line. It was not a depth chart quote. It was a locker-room one.

Richman, Bobo, and three heartbreakers

Mason Richman started at left guard and went down on the opening drive. He was checked on the field, then helped off with a right-leg injury. Macdonald called it "a major injury, a long-term injury" and said the specific diagnosis is still coming. Jake Bobo went on injured reserve Saturday after Friday's knee in the joint practice. Macdonald stacked them. "It's a heartbreaker, honestly. We've had three heartbreakers this week, which is tough," he told the AP.

The Titans beat a starter-less Seahawks team 19-16, the AP recap had it. Clark's absence now sits next to the Trevon Diggs signing on a Seattle roster that is already moving pieces. Macdonald said Clark and Richman are "two guys that we love, that play our style of ball, that are our type of guys." Multiple months is the only number he would put on the ankle. The break itself still needs a fuller read.

Bud Clark injury FAQ

What is the Bud Clark injury? A broken right ankle on Seattle's first defensive snap Sunday night at Tennessee. Macdonald said he will miss multiple months. Severity of the break has not been fully specified, per Seahawks.com, the AP, ESPN, and the Spokesman-Review.

Is Bud Clark a safety or a linebacker? Safety. The team site and ESPN list him there. The AP headline said LB. He was the 2026 second-round pick, 64th overall, out of TCU, and started Sunday because the Seahawks sat their starters.

Who else did the Seahawks lose in Nashville? Mason Richman, who started at left guard, suffered what Macdonald called a major, long-term right-leg injury on the opening drive, diagnosis TBD. Jake Bobo was already on IR from Friday. Macdonald called it three heartbreakers in a week.