When tight end Bernhard Seikovits arrived in Arizona with the Cardinals in 2021, he was a 24-year-old from Austria and part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program.
Now he is in his second three-year stint in the program and has completed his fourth season on the practice squad. There has been some playing experience in preseason games, but that’s it when it comes to wearing a jersey on game day.
However, he has continued to work hard and this week wore the No. 40 Pat Tillman jersey in practice for his effort on the scout team in preparation for last Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
It is something Seikovits and all the players in his role take seriously. The guy everyone calls “Seiko” also won the Scout Team Player of the Week once in 2023.
“It feels good,” he said this week. “You put in all the work every week and it’s always good to see that people see that, too. I just try to do my best every day and if that’s the reward, that’s good. But I’m going to do whatever I do no matter the outcome after the week.”
Still, he wondered whether it would happen this season and it didn’t happen until the final week of practice.
“Sometimes you have better weeks, sometimes you have worse weeks and also sometimes it depends on who you play,” he said. “Sometimes as a tight end or running back, whether you get more touches or less touches depends on who you play. So you never know how big of a week it’s going to be for you. As a receiving target, you never know when the ball comes to you. Obviously, you want to have it every play, but a lot of things have to go right for you to have a good practice week as a practice-squad player.
“But I’m happy it happened. And yeah, I thought a couple of weeks that I might get it, but it didn’t happen until now. Save the best for last I guess.”
Like every player I’ve spoken to this season who wore the jersey, Seikovits mentioned the competition there is every week for the award.
“You always try to find motivation in whatever you do,” he said. “Being on P-squad, sometimes it’s kind of hard to motivate yourself, not standing out there on the field with the other guys. Every little thing you can find motivation for helps. This is more than a little thing, obviously for the organization, but you really try to earn that jersey every week.”
He is also trying to set a standard that will help other international players getting an opportunity in the NFL.
Seikovits said, “I feel like every player, no matter where he is from, whether he is from Florida or a small town in the USA; every player has someone behind them and is trying to path the way for people behind him. European players and people from outside the U.S., there aren’t many of us, so, you have more people behind you and rooting for you.
“I don’t know how many 14-year-olds back home are like, ‘Oh I hope he makes the active roster so I can be in the league one day.’ But I want to prepare a better way, an easier way for people from back home. You see the game growing every year, especially internationally. They’re trying to have more games over there. And if one of us or me could be someone that paved the way for that, that would be awesome.”
Of course, what he is really striving for is the opportunity to be on the field in the regular season.
“I feel like I can be on the field on Sundays,” he said. “I just need the chance to prove myself. I’m just trying to do my best every day and especially in preseason and in camp every year I try to be here prepared and try to be here in the best physical shape I can be and also mentally.
“So far it hasn’t really worked out the way I envisioned it. But yeah, I strongly believe that I can be on the field on Sundays in the regular season and I have an unwavering belief that I can do it. Maybe next year’s the year.”
Head coach Jonathan Gannon said he is impressed by what he’s seen in his two years with Seikovits while he has been “learning how to play the position. He gets better each and every year, each and every week, each and every practice. He’s a guy that puts a lot of time into it too.
“He does a lot of extra. He’s really developed his game. He just happens to be in a room with a bunch of good guys, but at the drop of a dime his role could change and we’d feel good about putting him in.”
The Cardinals have carried four tight ends this season (Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins, Tip Reiman and Travis Vokolek). Vokolek was active for only one game in Week 4 when McBride was inactive.
As for Tillman, Seikovits acknowledged he didn’t know much the legacy he left behind before coming to the Cardinals, but it didn’t take long for that to change.
He said, “It’s hard not to come across him once you get here. They still have his locker here right when you walk in. So, it’s one of the first things I learned about the Cardinals and it’s really an inspiring story. It’s an honor to get the jersey and especially when you know who’s behind all this and why they do it.”
2024 Pat Tillman Scout-Team Award Winners
- Week 1: RB Michael Carter (practice squad)
- Week 2: LB Markus Bailey (practice squad)
- Week 3: WR Andre Baccellia (practice squad)
- Week 4: OL Jon Gaines II
- Week 5: WR Xavier Weaver
- Week 6: DL P.J. Mustipher (practice squad)
- Week 7: S Joey Blount
- Week 8: WR Chris Moore (practice squad)
- Week 9: OLB Ronnie Perkins (practice squad)
- Week 10: QB Clayton Tune
- Week 11: Bye Week
- Week 12: LB Milo Eifler (practice squad)
- Week 13: CB Kei’Trel Clark
- Week 14: S Joey Blount
- Week 15: TE Travis Vokolek
- Week 16: CB Jaden Davis (practice squad)
- Week 17: TE Bernhard Seikovits (practice squad)
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