Getty Shaquem Griffin is back on the Seattle Seahawks active roster.
Shaquem Griffin has been mostly silent since the Seattle Seahawks released the linebacker prior to Week 1. There was a happy ending to the story as Griffin passed through waivers and re-signed with the Seahawks as a member of the team’s practice squad.
Griffin was called up to the active roster in Week 3 and made the most of his opportunity against the Cowboys making key plays late in the fourth quarter. The move now appears to be permanent as the Seahawks officially promoted the linebacker to the active roster for good.
Griffin flashed at the end of last season using his speed as a situational pass rusher. The linebacker was used all over the field against the Cowboys and displayed sharp plays in coverage as he was utilized in a more expanded role.
Griffin Was Pursued by Multiple Teams After He Was Released by the Seahawks
During his Week 4 press conference, Griffin revealed three teams pursued him after he cleared waivers, but the linebacker believed the best scenario for him was to return to the Seahawks. Griffin admitted to being surprised by the team’s decision to release him and detailed the day he found out the bad news.
“Definitely a definite surprise for me,” Griffin noted, per Seahawks.com. “I was coming in for the COVID testing and I end up getting called, I’m like thinking it was just a normal day, and then end up being waived. I was like, ‘OK, that was an adjustment.’ The big thing for me, having my brother there was pretty big, I can admit to that. …I can’t sit here and try to control something that’s out of our control. So the only thing I could do was just be where my feet are at, and that was at the moment, I got waived, and at the next time it was either I’m going to be on the practice squad or somewhere else, so whatever step came, I was ready to attack that.”
Carroll on Griffin Being on the Active Roster: ‘He Earned It’
Earlier in the week, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll alluded to the idea that Griffin would be back on the active roster once again against the Dolphins. The Seahawks later revealed Griffin along with Ryan Neal have been moved up from the practice squad. Both players made key plays to help stop the Cowboys offense on the final drive.
Carroll noted that Griffin has “earned” the right to receive more opportunities going forward. The Seahawks coach admitted he was “thrilled” with Griffin’s performance against the Cowboys.
“He did great this week,” Carroll said, via Seahawks.com. “He was hauling butt all over the field. We played him a unique situation that he really handled well. He did a nice job rushing the passer in his other (opportunities) that he had. So I’m looking forward to him continuing to contribute. I was really fired up about his play. …He looked really good, and he was running all over the place, all over the field. If we can keep him available for those kinds of opportunities, he’s going to continue to show like that… I’m really excited to see him play again this weekend.”
As for Griffin, the linebacker noted the adversity has been easier to handle since his brother, Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin, has been encouraging him throughout the process. With his brother’s help, Griffin decided to take his initial release as an opportunity to self-evaluate, and now it is paying off on the field.
“Being here, worse comes to worse, I’ve always got my brother,” Griffin noted. “At the end of the day, when I’ve got him, everything’s always good, no matter if I’m playing ball or not. So I was like, man, I’m not going to just leave, run away because I feel like the situation got hard and the situation is not going my way. If I want the situation to go my way, what can I change, what can I adjust, what do I need to do to better myself?”
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