After Shaquem Griffin was released and signed to the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad, he found the determination to prove himself if he ever got the chance again.
And prove himself he did. In Week 3 against the Cowboys, Griffin was pressed into action late in the game following numerous injuries on the defensive side of the ball. Holding onto a 38-31 lead with under two minutes left, the Seahawks needed to pressure Dak Prescott on the Cowboys’ final offensive drive and Griffin brought it consistently. This turn of events eventually led to Ryan Neal’s game-winning interception of Prescott.
Griffin believes that since he already knew the playbook and the general workings of the organization, he just had to wait for his time to come and capitalize when it did.
“For me it was just all the mindset,” Griffin said. “Once you go to something like that, you have a choice to make, and for me, I didn’t want to make the choice to sell myself short. I knew the plays, I know what’s going on, I know the scheme, so the whole thing was just make sure I stay abreast on it and make sure that I stay ready just in case something was to happen. I didn’t know the exact role was going to happen coming into the game, but I just wanted to be ready for everything. I was studying each and every position that I was involved in to make sure I knew what was going. I knew what plays was happening, so once I got opportunities, it was like, ‘I shouldn’t second guess myself, just go out there, run fast and make plays.'”
Despite his initial release from the Seahawks, Griffin expressed the comfort of being with his brother, Shaquill, and his drive to improve himself so similar situations will not occur in the future.
“Being here, worse comes to worse, I’ve always got my brother,” he said “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?”
If Week 4 proceeds as planned following the Titans’ coronavirus outbreak, the Seahawks will play the Dolphins on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium at 10:00 a.m. PT.
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