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Seahawks Safety Coby Bryant Named NFC Defensive Player of the Week

Coby Bryant was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Sunday’s win over the Cardinals.

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Seahawks safety Coby Bryant, one of several defensive standouts in the Seahawks' Week 12 win over the Cardinals, has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

It is the first Player of the Week award for Bryant in his three-year career, and the first for a Seahawks player this season.

Bryant, who has been a key piece of Seattle's defense since taking over a starting role last month, was part of a defensive effort that held the Cardinals to just a pair of field goals after they had scored 28 or more points in each of their previous three games. Bryant contributed six tackles to that effort, and most notably, he returned an interception 69-yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to help break open a close game.

"If the ball is in the air near him, I'm assuming he's coming down with it," head coach Mike Macdonald said. "That's a credit to him."

In his five starts this season, Bryant now has 32 tackles, two interceptions and four passes defensed, production that helped keep him in the starting lineup even with Rayshawn Jenkins, the starter for the first six games at that spot, returning from injury.

Sunday's performance was all the more sweet for Bryant because he didn't have the easiest path to get to a spot where he was starting and in a position to make the type of plays he did in that game. After a strong rookie season in which Bryant was Seattle's nickel cornerback, Bryant lost that job in 2023, with injuries sidelining him in camp and opening the door for first-round pick Devon Witherspoon to take over that role and thrive in it. Witherspoon's emergence in that role led to the Seahawks moving Bryant to safety, a switch he resisted at first, and due to injuries and a reduced role last season, he appeared in only eight games with two starts, playing 146 defensive snaps after playing 756 as a rookie. Bryant began this year in a backup role once again, but impressed coaches with his play on special teams and his work in practice, leading TO a role on defense in dime packages. Then when Jenkins was sidelined by injury, Bryant stepped into that starting spot and never looked back.

"I just give all credit to God," Bryant said after the game. "All that I've been through, I've always held my head down, and just keep working. I never doubted myself. My teammates believed in me. The coaches believed in me and just took full advantage of the opportunity."

And Bryant wasn't the only defensive standout for the Seahawks in Sunday's game. This award could have just as easily gone to defensive end Leonard Williams, who had 2.5 sacks, six tackles, three tackles for loss and a pass defensed.

Coaches, players and staff across the league will wear customized cleats in honor of causes that are important to them as part of 'My Cause My Cleats'. Check out the custom cleats that Seahawks players and staff will wear for this year's 'My Cause My Cleats' league-wide initiative.

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