Seahawks’ surprising rookie Michael Jerrell gets ‘slimed’

Seattle Seahawks rookie right tackle Michael Jerrell made his first NFL start in Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Falcons.

How Seahawks’ 6th-round RT Jerrell impressed Macdonald, Geno

A day or two later, Jerrell found himself being drenched in Nickelodeon’s famous green slime.

How did this happen, you might ask?

Every week, Nickelodeon picks an “NVP” – Nickelodeon Valuable Player – as part of its NFL Slimetime show. This week’s NVP was Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III, who scored two touchdowns on his 24th birthday while battling through flu-like symptoms in Seattle’s 34-14 win over Atlanta. Walker rushed for 69 yards and a TD on 14 carries and added two catches for 24 yards and a score.

As this week’s NVP, Walker would have been the recipient of the customary slime dump that comes with winning the award. However, as left tackle Charles Cross explained in a video posted to the Seahawks’ social media accounts, Walker was still sick when Nickelodeon’s green slime arrived at the team’s facility.

That left Seattle’s offensive line to accept the award on Walker’s behalf. And as a rookie, Jerrell had the honor of being slimed.

“Slimy Mike.” 😂

Our o-line accepted @Nickelodeon‘s NVP award on behalf of @Kenneth_Walker9, and here’s what happened. pic.twitter.com/agZ2PeptXS

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 23, 2024

It’s been an impressive journey to the NFL for Jerrell.

The 6-foot-5, 294-pound Jerrell was a sixth-round draft pick this spring out of Division II University of Findlay in Ohio. Jerrell said he had opportunities to transfer to Power Five programs, but wanted to remain loyal to the school where he began his college career.

Less than a year after playing in front of sparse crowds at the D-II level, Jerrell was starting an NFL game in front of more than 70,000 fans in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Jerrell found himself in that situation after a slew of injury issues at right tackle, the latest being a hand injury to third-stringer Stone Forsythe. Jerrell had a solid debut, highlighted by a nice block that paved a running lane for Walker’s 20-yard TD run.

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