Brady Henderson
RENTON, Wash. — Mike Macdonald contemplated the query for 5 full seconds.
The Seattle Seahawks head coach was requested after a minicamp follow final month about Coby Bryant, the nickelback turned security who's getting into 12 months 2 on the place. Macdonald's hesitation was telling in the easiest way potential.
“Man,” he stated earlier than one other pause, “how can I praise Coby one of the best?”
Macdonald went on to say {that a} Seahawks defensive coach had not too long ago delivered a presentation to the workforce targeted on Bryant, who started final season as a backup after which emerged as a difference-making starter halfway by means of the season.
“What caught out to me was simply his intentionality, and he cared in regards to the minor particulars on a regular basis despite the fact that his position wasn't a starter [from the] get-go,” Macdonald stated. “So he has that chip on his shoulder naturally as a result of he is only a nice competitor, however these are the kind of guys we would like. … When he lastly obtained his alternative, he knocked it out of the park, and he is earned himself an amazing position on our soccer workforce.”
Has Bryant additionally earned a brand new contract with Seattle?
That chance hasn't generated a lot public hypothesis on the heels of the Seahawks drafting one other security, Nick Emmanwori, within the second spherical. Their different starter, Julian Love, is signed for 3 extra years after Seattle prolonged him final summer time.
However Bryant's contract scenario is one to control with the Seahawks set to start coaching camp subsequent week, which has been the group's frequent time-frame for finalizing extensions. He's set to make a base wage of $3.4 million in 2025, the final 12 months of his rookie contract.
Bryant's long-term future in Seattle instantly appeared murky after common supervisor John Schneider traded up 17 spots to draft Emmanwori with the thirty fifth decide. However two issues have since change into clear: Macdonald and his employees plan to play the explosive rookie at nickel, a minimum of early on, and Bryant has continued to impress the group along with his preparation, mentality and his play.
“He is in an amazing place,” Macdonald stated. “I do know he is taking part in actually assured proper now, and you are feeling him on the market. So we're excited for Coby.”
Bryant discovered a house at security after a nomadic begin to his profession.
Whereas taking part in cornerback reverse Sauce Gardner in faculty at Cincinnati, he received the 2021 Jim Thorpe Award because the nation's greatest defensive again. The Seahawks drafted him within the fourth spherical in 2022 and transformed him to nickelback, a task he stuffed all through his rookie season.
The transfer inside was a gentle success at first. Bryant compelled 4 fumbles and recorded a pair of sacks that season whereas taking part in the seventh-most snaps of any Seattle defender. However his 2023 season was derailed by a pair of toe accidents — one sidelined him for 2 months — and the arrival of Devon Witherspoon. The fifth decide that 12 months, Witherspoon usurped Bryant at nickelback in September on his technique to a Professional Bowl rookie season.
Then got here one other place change that will change the trajectory of Bryant's profession. He started 2024 behind veteran free agent addition Rayshawn Jenkins on the depth chart at security, however he he made sufficient performs in follow to drive his approach onto the sector in sub packages. When Jenkins went down with a hand damage, Bryant highlighted his first begin with an interception that helped shut out an October win over the Atlanta Falcons.
“I am not stunned,” Macdonald stated postgame of Bryant. “Once more, this man simply retains taking part in at a excessive degree. … He simply sees how performs progress. He simply looks like he is in the proper spot on a regular basis on these overthrows and patrolling the deep space of the sector.”
Bryant would add two extra interceptions, together with one he returned 69 yards for a landing in a November win over the Arizona Cardinals to earn NFC Defensive Participant of the Week honors. Whereas the midseason arrival of linebacker Ernest Jones IV obtained a lot of the credit score for the Seahawks' defensive turnaround, that surge additionally owed a superb deal to Bryant changing Jenkins within the beginning lineup.
Whereas Bryant was named after the late Los Angeles Lakers star, Love likened him to a different NBA legend.
“Coby has a chip on his shoulder, and that is why all of us love him a lot,” Love stated. “It is type of like [Michael] Jordan in ‘The Final Dance.' He takes every thing private. That is the kind of particular person he's. He competes in every thing he does, and when he is quiet, he is locked in and within the zone. … I feel we simply love Coby for who he's, and he works his ass off.”
The Seahawks and Emmanwori reached an settlement Thursday night time on a totally assured contract, a supply advised ESPN's Adam Schefter. It was one other vital domino within the league-wide standoff between groups and unsigned second-round picks over assure of their rookie offers. Emmanwori had been the highest-drafted amongst that group, and with assure percentages sometimes primarily based off the previous choice, loads of eyes had been on the thirty fifth total decide.
However he is not the one Seahawks security whose contract scenario bears watching.
