Seahawks Insider: Byron Maxwell fits right back in with Legion of Boom
Nov 22, 2017, 1:37 PM | Updated: 2:34 pm
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.
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“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.”
