Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Brandon Pili reacts to the snap during a preseason game between the Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders at Lumen Field in Seattle on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Photo provided by Seattle Seahawks)

SEATTLE — As Lumen Field began to clear following the Seattle Seahawks’ preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders last Thursday, Brandon Pili was in no hurry to get back to the locker room.

While his teammates rushed off the field, bypassing clamoring fans both young and old, Pili was soaking it all in, signing several pieces of memorabilia and taking selfies. After spending his first two years in the league with the NFL franchise that is the farthest away from his home state of Alaska, Pili is happy to be playing now for the one closest to home.

“It feels good, I feel at home here back in the Northwest where I grew up,” Pili said. “It feels good playing here and I had a blast.”

The third-year defensive tackle was picked up by the Seahawks last November after being waived by the Miami Dolphins but didn’t appear in a game for the team down the stretch.

That meant Seattle’s interconference exhibition clash with the Raiders was his first appearance in live action for the Seahawks as he battles to make a final 53-man roster for the third year in a row.

“The preseason is a great opportunity for players that don’t get all the recognition and don’t always get the playing time to show their ability,” Pili said. “It’s good for the rookies and young guys to really show out and show that they can play in the NFL. I think it’s really good for me to play in the preseason to prove to them that I can play.”

After going undrafted out of the University of Southern California in 2023, strong performances in the preseason played a big role in Pili making the Dolphins’ final roster in each of his first two seasons.

The former Dimond High star got the starting nod for the Seahawks opener at nose tackle as several starters watched from the sidelines. It didn’t take long for him to make his presence felt, especially in the run game, where he made a pair of solo tackles to limit ball carriers to minimal gains in the first half.

Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Brandon Pili celebrates after a play during a preseason game between the Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders at Lumen Field in Seattle on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Photo provided by Seattle Seahawks)

“You go through training camp and you practice hours, hours and hours of the same thing and you pray that you’ll be able to get it done on the big stage when it counts,” Pili said. “I’m blessed enough to be able to do that.”

Both of the plays he made occurred on back-to-back drives in the second quarter and resulted in third-down and long passing situations. The Raiders had to settle for a short field goal after the first tackle and turned over the ball on an interception following the second.

Receiving stamps of approval and ringing endorsements

Pili’s overall strong performance in the game — which ended in a 23-23 tie — earned him praise from Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald.

“Another great story of a guy that was really determined over the offseason to have a great offseason and really commit to the process with his body and how he practices and getting into football shape so he can go have performances like this,” he said.

Pili was especially dedicated to improving his strength and conditioning this offseason. The average NFL career is 3.3 years, according to Statista — which makes year three the most pivotal as lifelong dreams can be extended or extinguished.

“This offseason, they had a good offseason program,” Pili said. “We ran and lifted every day. I just really locked in on the details of what I was putting in my body, and my habits. I had to change a few habits, stop eating some stuff here and there, but it’s all worth it. I think it’s coming together.”

Macdonald was especially forthcoming with praise and pride when talking about Pili, and the significance of the next few weeks for players of his ilk.

“We’re halfway through camp here, we have a couple more weeks that are going to be really important for him, but I’m really excited for him (and) happy for him,” he said. “Just happy for him to have success (because) you see how much work he’s put into it.”

Anchorage’s Brandon Pili work against teammates during a Seattle Seahawks practice session in summer 2025. (Photo provided by Seattle Seahawks)

It means a lot for Pili to have his head coach in his corner and rooting for him to continue to excel.

“It feels good. It comes from the whole coaching staff as a whole,” he said. “They’ve been working with me. They enjoy that I’ve been progressing and doing well in training camp. I’m just trying to keep it going.”

In Seattle, Pili has several stalwart, veteran leaders to learn from who have been instrumental in his continued growth. The list includes the likes of two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Leonard Williams, 10th-year defensive tackle Jarran Reed and 13th-year nose tackle Johnathan Hankins.

“It’s been huge,” Pili said. “I think we really have one of the best defensive lines in the whole league and to have those guys be able to help me every day, instruct me and add to my game.”

Reed spoke with members of the media Monday and commended Pili and the rest of the team’s young interior defensive linemen for their work ethic and how they played in Week 1 of the preseason.

“Those guys didn’t blink twice,” Reed said. “They come out here and attack every day. Any kind of corrections that we take and give to them, they take it as a professional athlete and come out here and do the things and change what we need to change. It’s going to pick up for them. … I think the more that they play, the more comfortable they’ll get.”

Pili only played until about midway through the third quarter of the Seahawks’ preseason opener and spent the remainder of the game watching from the sidelines supporting his teammates.

While this doesn’t mean he is guaranteed a roster spot, it’s an indication that he is in good standing and trending in the right direction. His biggest goal moving forward is to continue being the best version of himself every time he steps on the field for practice or more exhibition action.

“If I take care of everything that I can take care of and I play to the best of my ability, there’s not a lot of people that can stop me,” Pili said.

Additional benefits of being closer to home

Even though none of his family was present for his first game as a Seahawk, just being geographically closer to home is “definitely a big plus” of him embarking on the next chapter of his career with a new team.

“It feels good to be able to get on a flight three hours and go back home and see my family,” Pili said. “If we’re playing at home, they can get on a (short) flight instead of flying all the way across the country.”

Florida is the farthest state from Alaska, and the high school football season in the 49th state overlaps with the NFL’s season. That meant that last year, Pili had to watch from afar as his younger brother Cayden led his alma mater to the program’s first state championship since 2001.

Alissa Pili hands the trophy to the Dimond Lynx football team after they beat West 14-7 in the State D1 football championship on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024 at Colony High School in Palmer. Dimond alum Pili, who now plays in the WNBA with the Minnesota Lynx, was on hand to cheer on her brother, Dimond quarterback Cayden Pili. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

“It was a blessing to see,” he said. “I knew from when he was a young kid that he was probably going to be the best athlete out of all of us. He just doesn’t have the size right now but I’m happy for him.”

Cayden Pili was named Alaska’s Gatorade and Max Preps Player of the Year for football as a junior in 2024. He will be playing his senior year down in Seattle while living with his brother. Brandon, who started his high school career at Dimond, parlayed his senior season at Westview High in Portland, Oregon, into earning a full-ride scholarship to become a Trojan nearly a decade ago in 2016.

“He’s staying with me so he’ll be getting a lot of advice,” Brandon Pili said.

Their sister Alissa is also a professional athlete who recently experienced some challenges of her own. Over a year after being selected No. 8 overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the 2024 WNBA Draft, she was waived in early July and didn’t get picked up until Aug. 3, when the Los Angeles Sparks signed her to a seven-day contract.

“I always knew she was a baller,” Brandon Pili said. “It was just a matter of time, giving her a chance and letting her shine. I’m glad that the LA Sparks picked her up and I’m hoping they give her an opportunity to show what she can really do because she is dominant on the court.”

After making her debut for the Sparks this past Saturday, Alissa was re-signed to another seven-day contract on Sunday. Having been through a similar situation less than a year ago, her big brother provided her with some advice and words of encouragement.

“I just told her that the first time is always going to be the worst but it happens to the best of us,” Pili said. “There’s been people cut plenty of times that have made a good example.”

One of the biggest role models from his young career that he looks to for inspiration is Dolphins veteran defensive tackle Zach Sieler. Before blossoming into a star down in Miami, he was a seventh-round pick in 2018 by the Baltimore Ravens out of Ferris State University.

“He got cut by the Ravens and went to Miami and got cut from Miami, and now he’s the highest-paid defensive player on the Dolphins,” Pili said. “I always refer back to that story and it provides me with hope.”