DANNY ONEIL

Seahawks Insider: Byron Maxwell fits right back in with Legion of Boom

Nov 22, 2017, 1:37 PM | Updated: 2:34 pm

seattle seahawks, seahawks, byron maxwell, maxwell...

Seahawks CB Byron Maxwell caused one of the Cowboys' three turnovers Sunday. (AP)

(AP)

Two plays into Monday’s game, the Seahawks lost their second starting cornerback in two games and forced their newest defensive back into action.

Except Byron Maxwell isn’t exactly new.

He played four seasons in Seattle after being drafted by the Seahawks out of Clemson in 2011, but seven days after being re-signed, Maxwell wasn’t just back on the field with Seattle, he was exhibiting the form that made him one of the most coveted free agents in the league in 2015.

O’Neil: What We Learned from Seahawks’ loss to Atlanta

“Maxie played really well,” coach Pete Carroll said. “He looked like us again. He was very specific about his technique and the way he played. You could see the style come back. He can play so we were very fortunate, and they were out there battling.”

It has been a winding road back to Seattle for Maxwell, who signed with the Eagles in 2015 for a top-shelf free-agent deal. He was traded to Miami after just one year with the Eagles. He played 2016 with the Dolphins, but was cut by Miami earlier this season.

Seattle signed him last week after the season-ending Achilles injury to Richard Sherman. Maxwell was the next man up when Shaquill Griffin suffered a concussion on the second play of Monday’s game against Atlanta.

Just like that, the Seahawks’ first-team cornerbacks were a guy who was watching games at home a month ago (Maxwell) and one the Seahawks agreed to trade to Houston only to have him returned after failing a physical exam (Jeremy Lane).

And you know what? Carroll said that each one acquitted himself fairly well. It certainly wasn’t perfect. Both committed significant pass-interference penalties, but other than that, Seattle did manage to hold Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to fewer than 200 yards passing, which is something that hadn’t happened in four years.

“Having background with those guys made it feel OK,” Carroll said regarding Maxwell and Lane. “It wasn’t feeling like, ‘Oh man, we’re out and these guys are out on an island all by themselves and they’ve never done it before.’ It didn’t feel like that so we were fortunate so they went out there and slugged it out.”

Danny and Gallant Show

Danny ONeil

Seahawks Quandre Diggs...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: Seahawks have uncertainty with a player ‘holding in,’ but it’s not Quandre Diggs

While Quandre Diggs appears to be the third Seahawks player to "hold-in" during training camp, Danny O'Neil writes that it's Duane Brown whose future is up in the air.

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

AZ Good AZ it Gets

SPONSORED – Phoenix was the place where the rest of the country found out that Seattle fans took their enthusiasm on the road with them. That was 2013. It’s also the place where I discovered how restorative a desert vacation can be. That was 2015. Let’s start with the screaming. That’s what caught everyone’s attention […]

3 years ago

Mariners Jarred Kelenic...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: Mariners aren’t handing the spotlight over to Seahawks just yet

This is the time of year that Seattle tends to shift its focus to the gridiron, but the Mariners are still commanding attention.

3 years ago

Seahawks Duane Brown...

Danny O'Neil

O’Neil: When Seahawks decide not to extend players, they’re rarely wrong

If you think the Seahawks must sign Duane Brown to an extension, when's the last time they opted against re-signing someone and it came back to bite them?

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

Oh, LA, LA!

Week 15, Dec. 19: Seattle at Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium, 1:25 p.m. Pacific SPONSORED – Maybe it was fitting that the opening act for the first pro-football game I covered in Los Angeles was a rock band I loved as a teenager. There’s no place that makes me think of growing up more than […]

3 years ago

Follow @dannyoneil...

Danny O'Neil

Star in a Lone Star Adventure

Week 14, Dec. 12: Seattle at Houston Texans, NRG Stadium, 10 a.m. Pacific SPONSORED – Enchiladas and greatness. That’s what I think of in Texas. The enchiladas are pretty straightforward. They’re so delicious at El Tiempo Cantina that it’s hard to take a bite without closing my eyes. There are three locations though the one […]

3 years ago

Seahawks Insider: Byron Maxwell fits right back in with Legion of Boom