Shaheed who was acquired earlier this season has been a changemaker for special teams, returning both a kick and a punt for a touchdown, the only player to accomplish both this season. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career.
“It was honestly towards the back [of my mind],” he said. “I really never thought about it, but now that it’s here, it’s kind of a surreal feeling. Super just thankful and blessed in this moment.”
Quarterback Sam Darnold was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl said he had a few conversations with his teammates about this recognition being a “team award.”
“Just to have that honor, it really reflects the hard work that everyone’s put in starting when we got here in April. So total team award.”
And while the players are grateful for the honor they are focused on a bigger goal.
“The only thing that’s on our mind is to win, to go 1-0 every week,” Witherspoon said. “Whatever accomplishments come with that, we appreciate it, but we’re looking at the bigger picture.”
The six Seahawks selected for the Pro Bowl is tied for second most in franchise history. The 1984, 2015 and 2020 teams had seven players voted to the initial roster and the 2007 and 2013 teams had six. Only three other teams this season had six players named to the initial roster (Broncos, Ravens, 49ers).
“I think it’s a testament to how bought in everyone is and the things you do when you have team success not just player success,” Witherspoon said. “Everyone gets their chance to shine. Like I said, we don’t really care about the stats. Whoever makes a play, we go out there and celebrate and I think that’s just a testament of this team.”
Williams added, “I think it’s just awesome to see the players get recognized. We have a lot of great players on this team that even more I felt like should have made it. And it’s cool to see the ones that did make it, get the respect and honor that they deserve.”