Report: Seahawks fear torn ACL for DE Chris Clemons

On what was otherwise a big day for the Seahawks, there is one potentially big piece of bad news. According to multiple reports, including one from NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, doctors fear that defensive end Chris Clemons suffered a torn ACL during Seattle's 24-14 win in Washington.

Doctors believe #Seahawks DE Chris Clemons has a torn ACL, agent Donal Henderson told me. MRI in morning. "It's loose. We think it's an ACL"

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 7, 2013

Clemons, who led Seattle in sacks for the third straight year, went down seemingly without contact, making it fair to wonder if the pretty awful field conditions at FedEx Field played a factor.

Carroll said after the game that they didn't yet know the severity of the injury and that Clemons will have an MRI Monday, then added, "But we're concerned about it."

Rookie Bruce Irvin saw his workload increase with Clemons out and played well, picking up a fourth-quarter sack, but Clemons' loss would still be huge for Seattle if the injury is in fact serious. Seattle could perhaps look to add Ray Edwards, a free agent defensive end who worked out with the Seahawks last month. And it just so happens that Edwards last played for Atlanta, Seattle's next playoff opponent, before being released by the Falcons in November.