Fans who watched the Seattle Seahawks’ 44-22 romp of the Arizona Cardinals likely experienced a moment of déjà vu. With 9:22 remaining in the first quarter, linebacker Tyrice Knight blitzed up the middle and strip-sacked Jacoby Brissett; the play led to a DeMarcus Lawrence fumble-return touchdown. With 14:08 left in the second quarter, just 10 minutes of game time later, Knight blitzed again, stripped Brissett again, and watched Lawrence rumble into the end zone with another fumble-return touchdown.
“Man, it was the same play, and the same result,” Knight told reporters after the game. “Really the sack, it looked the same to me. [It’s] just God putting things in order for you.”
It was Knight’s best performance of the season, and perhaps of his NFL career. The 24-year-old finished the game with eight tackles, three of which were for a loss, two sacks, and two forced fumbles.
Knight’s Midseason Benching
For Knight, Sunday’s game marks a resilient comeback after early-season disappointment. Last month, head coach Mike MacDonald benched the young linebacker in favor of Drake Thomas.
It looked as if Knight would be relegated to playing special teams for the rest of the seasonâa dispiriting setback following his impressive rookie campaign. However, Knight reclaimed a starting role after fellow linebacker Ernest Jones injured his knee in Week 9. He has certainly seized the opportunity, racking up 18 tackles in the last two games.
Knight also had to work his way back from multiple health issues. Along with suffering a knee injury in August during training camp, he dealt with an undisclosed heart issue, which he and the team say has since been resolved.
“Honestly, it just felt good to be back healthy,” Knight said. “There ain’t no excuse early in the season, but right now I just feel like me again. Just back moving and, how I be moving, just playing football better.”
âYouâve gotta stay ready in how you prepare, and heâs playing great football,â Macdonald said after Sunday’s game. âObviously, we want Ernest back as soon as possible, but [Knight] is showing that he can go in and play great ball for us and execute.
âBoth of those were pressures that we havenât run before. And so to be able to go in and execute those things, having not gotten all the reps, was some high-powered stuff.â
‘Last Chance U’ Backstory
Knight followed a unique path to the NFL. Before the Seahawks selected him in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the versatile linebacker started his college career at Independence Community College. The school’s football team was documented on Netflix’s hit television series “Last Chance U” in 2017 and 2018.
Knight spent 2018 and 2019 at Independence CC before transferring to UTEP. He redshirted his 2018 season and, as a result, wasn’t prominently featured on the show. However, Knight was a standout player in 2019, earning him the attention of the UTEP Miners.
In 2023, Knight led all FBS players in solo tackles with 84. He was also named first-team All-Conference USA. He had 140 total tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, seven passes defensed, and a forced fumble.
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