Tag: Shaquem Griffin

Shaquem Griffin set to be inducted into UCF Hall of Fame

UCF legend Shaquem Griffin to be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in November.

It was an emotional announcement, but it was a much-deserved announcement. The University of Central Florida announced that former football star Shaquem Griffin would be joining the school’s Hall of Fame on Friday.

The 29-year-old from St. Petersburg Florida was born with amniotic band syndrome which affected his left hand. When he was four years old, his hand was amputated. That did not stop him from playing sports at a high level.

During his time at Central Florida, he was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year. He was the Peach Bowl defensive MVP and was named to the second team All-American team.

The linebacker was drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He went to the Seattle Seahawks and then spent some time with the Miami Dolphins. Before he finished in the league, he recorded 25 tackles and had a sack. He has not been in the league since 2021. He is the twin brother of Shaquill Griffin, who is with the Minnesota Vikings.

Griffin will be one of the main headliners in the 2024 UCF Hall of Fame class. The event will be on November 1st during a home game against the Arizona Wildcats.

The 2024 Central Florida Knights are set to start their season on Thursday, August 29th. They will host New Hampshire, one of four games in the Big 12 that night.

Boy who got prosthetic arm from ‘Iron Man’ now playing linebacker in high school

These days Pring is doing a bit of heroic work of his own.

In 2014, Alex Pring was gifted a 3D-printed prosthetic arm by “Iron Man” actor Robert Downey Jr., made by student engineers at UCF. These days Pring is doing a bit of heroic work of his own.

According to Catherine Silver at Click Orlando, Pring is now playing linebacker at South Lake High School (Fla.).

Obviously, that comes with unique challenges for an athlete with only one arm, but Pring overcomes it with his work ethic. He told Silver that he’s working three times as hard as anyone else.

“I have had to overcome so many things… Whether it’s in the weight room, how to tackle, how to run. It’s like learning to walk again. It’s a lot… I have put in my work. I think I am putting in three times as much work as most people.”

While it’s a long shot for any footballer, there is a precedent for Pring to follow if he has hopes of playing the game at its highest level.

Former Lakewood (Fla.) and UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin only has one hand, and he was drafted into the NFL by the Seattle Seahawks back in 2018. He played four seasons in the league before announcing his retirement last August.

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Former Seahawks LB Shaquem Griffin announces retirement from NFL

Griffin says he doesn’t want fans to feel sorry for him and thanked coach Pete Carroll for giving him a chance.

Former Seahawks linebacker Shaquem Griffin has announced his retirement from the NFL. Griffin broke the news himself in a column for the Player’s Tribune this morning. Griffin was picked by Seattle in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft, joining his brother Shaquill – a third-round selection from the previous year.

Griffin went on to play 46 games for the Seahawks before getting cut prior to the 2020 season. He worked his way back onto the practice squad but only appeared in one game that year. Last season, Griffin worked out for several teams around the league but in the end only wanted to play with his brother on the Jaguars.

“The Dolphins cut me before the 2021 season. I worked out for the Cardinals, the Titans and the Jets, and then I got calls from Buffalo, Dallas and Atlanta. But after that Jets workout, I realized something. All this traveling around, working out for teams, trying to catch on somewhere, trying to hang on — it wasn’t what I wanted. Football had already given me so much, and the only thing I still really wanted from the game was to play with my brother again. So I told my agent, Buddy Baker, thank you for grinding and bringing me these opportunities. But unless it’s Jacksonville, I’m good.”

Griffin says he doesn’t want fans to feel sorry for him and thanked coach Pete Carroll for giving him a chance with the Seahawks, as well as former teammates like Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright and his brother.

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Shaquem Griffin, who played four years in the NFL with one hand, announced his retirement

Shaquem Griffin played 46 games in the NFL with one hand. Now he’s hanging up his cleats to help others.

Shaquem Griffin has lived most of his 27 years on this earth with only one hand. That didn’t stop him from playing professional football long enough to collect a pension from the NFL.

Griffin, a 6-foot, 227-pound linebacker, was born with amniotic band syndrome, which left the fingers on his left hand painfully underdeveloped. Though he had the hand amputated at age four, he still became a college football star at the University of Central Florida

In Orlando, he racked up 18.5 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss in his final two seasons after cracking the starting lineup. That led him to Seattle; the Seahawks selected him in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft one year after drafting Shaquem’s brother (and Pro Bowl cornerback) Shaquill in the third.

Griffin went on to play 46 games as a Seahawk between 2018 and 2020. He spent time on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad in 2021. He won’t be back for the 2022 campaign.

Calling professional football his “Plan B,” and citing a loss of passion for the game when he’s not playing alongside his brother, Griffin announced his retirement with a post on The Player’s Tribune.

So keep ballin’ out. Keep living that dream. We’ve been told countless times, and it’s still humbling every time I hear it, that there should be a movie about our journey together, and what we’ve been through, together, always inseparable. Maybe that day will come sooner than later. But until then, I’m gonna go build something new so I can do what Dad always told us to do: leave the world a better place than when we found it.

On to Plan A. — Shaquem Griffin

Griffin didn’t have a major role in the Seahawks’ defense but played roughly half Seattle’s special teams snaps in 2018 and 2019. He recorded his lone NFL sack in 2020.

His numbers hardly tell his story. Griffin couldn’t be stopped by the disability that changed his life as a child. He put in the work to not only live his dream, but live it alongside the brother he loves. Now he gets to spin that work ethic into his role in the NFL Legends Community, where he’ll have the chance to, in his own words, “improve people’s lives and make a real positive impact.”

That sounds awesome. Given the way his life has unfolded so far, it’d be dumb to bet against Shaquem Griffin at this point.

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Miami Dolphins sign LB Shaquem Griffin to one year contract

Miami Dolphins sign LB Shaquem Griffin to one year contract

The Miami Dolphins are, once again, on the move. On a news day that has featured an injury to a top NFC wide receiver (Michael Thomas) and the halted negotiations of another (Davante Adams), the Dolphins are making headlines for the little things — adding a potential core special teams player in former Seattle linebacker Shaquem Griffin. It was first reported this morning by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that the Dolphins were hosting Griffin on a visit, but now it has been reported by Pelissero’s colleague Ian Rapoport that a deal has been struck.

Miami has signed Griffin to play in 2021 on a one-year deal.

Griffin, a former standout with the UCF Knights program, was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 141 overall pick (5th round) of the 2018 NFL Draft and now returns to Florida after 46 games with Seattle. Griffin’s role to date has been mostly as a special teams contributor and with the presence of Jerome Baker and Benardrick McKinney on the Dolphins’ second level, the same figures to be true for his role in South Florida this upcoming season.

As we outlined earlier today, this does not bode well for former CFL standout Sam Eguavoen; who has been with Miami for two seasons and served in a role that will likely overlap with the one Griffin is looking to fill as a newcomer to the team in 2021.

Consider nothing set in stone, however. Training camp and the 2021 preseason will go a long way in helping Brian Flores and company come to any final decisions regarding the active roster for Week 1 against New England.

Miami Dolphins sign LB Shaquem Griffin to one year contract

Miami Dolphins sign LB Shaquem Griffin to one year contract

The Miami Dolphins are, once again, on the move. On a news day that has featured an injury to a top NFC wide receiver (Michael Thomas) and the halted negotiations of another (Davante Adams), the Dolphins are making headlines for the little things — adding a potential core special teams player in former Seattle linebacker Shaquem Griffin. It was first reported this morning by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that the Dolphins were hosting Griffin on a visit, but now it has been reported by Pelissero’s colleague Ian Rapoport that a deal has been struck.

Miami has signed Griffin to play in 2021 on a one-year deal.

Griffin, a former standout with the UCF Knights program, was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 141 overall pick (5th round) of the 2018 NFL Draft and now returns to Florida after 46 games with Seattle. Griffin’s role to date has been mostly as a special teams contributor and with the presence of Jerome Baker and Benardrick McKinney on the Dolphins’ second level, the same figures to be true for his role in South Florida this upcoming season.

As we outlined earlier today, this does not bode well for former CFL standout Sam Eguavoen; who has been with Miami for two seasons and served in a role that will likely overlap with the one Griffin is looking to fill as a newcomer to the team in 2021.

Consider nothing set in stone, however. Training camp and the 2021 preseason will go a long way in helping Brian Flores and company come to any final decisions regarding the active roster for Week 1 against New England.

Which Dolphin would be most threatened by signing Shaquem Griffin?

Which Dolphin would be most threatened by signing Shaquem Griffin?

The Miami Dolphins are hosting free agent defender Shaquem Griffin on a visit today — with the start of Dolphins training camp just around the corner at the beginning of next week. The strategy of churning the roster is hardly a new concept for general manager Chris Grier and the Dolphins will certainly welcome any and all comers to the team who can provide competition for any specific role on the active roster.

And so the question begs to be asked — which role on the active roster would Griffin be in play to contend for?

The answer doesn’t necessarily lie on the defensive side of the football but instead with the team’s special teams unit. Griffin has played 259 defensive snaps in his 3-year NFL career with Seattle, but logged nearly twice as many (506) as a special teams player. That’s the kind of role that is currently held by Dolphins linebacker Sam Eguavoen — who was brought to Miami after a successful career in the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2019 as a part of the team’s complete and total roster rebuild.

Eguavoen was forced into a prominent defensive role with the team in 2019 but last season manned the special teams units with consistency, logging 281 special teams snaps versus just 84 defensive reps.

And so that’s where Griffin can make an impact on this roster; but potentially pushing Eguavoen for that backup linebacker and kick coverage option on the teams units. Griffin, who ran a 4.38s 40-yard dash when passing through the NFL Combine back in 2018, would provide a more dynamic piece of the coverage unit to run down the field and help rally to the football.

Whether or not Miami eventually signs Griffin will be telling on if the team feels that is a priority — but either way Eguavoen, who is entering his third-year with Miami, should consider himself on red alert. The team will be watching this summer when he and the rest of the Dolphins take the field.

Dolphins host Shaquem Griffin on free-agent visit

#Dolphins host Shaquem Griffin on free-agent visit:

The Miami Dolphins are hosting former Seattle Seahawks linebacker Shaquem Griffin on a free-agent visit on Friday, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero:

Earlier this offseason, the Seahawks decided not to offer the linebacker his restricted free agent tender. That came just days after his twin brother, Shaquill, who also played in Seattle, signed a three-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

RFAs who aren’t tendered by the deadline automatically become unrestricted free agents.

In May, NFL Network reported “multiple teams” had interest in signing Griffin, however, he remains a free agent. He has had free-agent visits with other teams this offseason, including the Denver Broncos, who had him in for a tryout during their minicamp.

After overcoming the odds of having a hand amputated as a child, Griffin cracked the NFL and was a fifth-round pick of the Seahawks in 2018. Griffin has mostly played a depth and special teams role in his career thus far.

Dolphins Wire provide any updates on Griffin potentially signing with Miami prior to their training camp’s start on July 27.

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Could Seahawks achieve reunion with LB Shaquem Griffin in 2021?

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that numerous teams are interested in Shaquem Griffin, but could he return to the Seattle Seahawks?

Numerous NFL teams are interested in free-agent linebacker Shaquem Griffin, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

It is currently unknown if he will return to the Seahawks, but Pelissero stated that he should be with a team relatively soon.

Seattle cut Griffin before the 2020 season, only to re-sign him to the practice squad a day later. He would contribute a sack, a pass defensed, nine tackles (six solo), a tackle for loss, and three QB hits in limited action over the course of the year.

Griffin’s twin brother Shaquill signed a lucrative three-year, $44.5 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency. It is certain that Shaquem will not earn nearly as much in free agency for obvious reasons, which could make it more possible for Seattle to re-sign him. However, time will tell if the two sides wish to reunite for 2021.

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Seahawks will not be tendering restricted free agent Shaquem Griffin

The Seattle Seahawks won’t be tendering restricted free agent linebacker Shaquem Griffin, who will then become unrestricted at the deadline.

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The Seattle Seahawks lost one Griffin twin on Tuesday when cornerback Shaquill agreed to a three-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now it appears his twin Shaquem is not far behind.

Seattle will not be offering the linebacker his restricted free agent tender, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

“The Seahawks aren’t tendering Shaquill Griffin’s brother, Shaquem, as a restricted free agent, per source,” Pelissero tweeted. “So … a potential Griffin family reunion in Jacksonville?”

That idea certainly isn’t that far-fetched as the Griffin twins attended both high school and college together, playing for the same teams.

RFAs who aren’t tendered by the deadline automatically become unrestricted free agents.

Here’s the latest from Shaquem on Twitter . . .

We’ll be updating our tracker as the moves continue to happen, so check back often!

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