RENTON, Wash. — Mike Macdonald pondered the question for five full seconds.
The Seattle Seahawks head coach was asked after a minicamp practice last month about Coby Bryant, the nickelback turned safety who is entering Year 2 at the position. Macdonald’s hesitation was telling in the best way possible.
“Man,” he said before another pause, “how can I compliment Coby the best?”
Macdonald went on to say that a Seahawks defensive coach had recently delivered a presentation to the team focused on Bryant, who began last season as a backup and then emerged as a difference-making starter midway through the season.
“What stuck out to me was just his intentionality, and he cared about the minor details all the time even though his role wasn’t a starter [from the] get-go,” Macdonald said. “So he has that chip on his shoulder naturally because he’s just a great competitor, but those are the type of guys we want. … When he finally got his opportunity, he knocked it out of the park, and he’s earned himself a great role on our football team.”
Has Bryant also earned a new contract with Seattle?
That possibility hasn’t generated much public speculation on the heels of the Seahawks drafting another safety, Nick Emmanwori, in the second round. Their other starter, Julian Love, is signed for three more years after Seattle extended him last summer.
But Bryant’s contract situation is one to keep an eye on with the Seahawks set to begin training camp next week, which has been the organization’s common time frame for finalizing extensions. He is set to make a base salary of $3.4 million in 2025, the last year of his rookie contract.
Bryant’s long-term future in Seattle immediately seemed murky after general manager John Schneider traded up 17 spots to draft Emmanwori with the 35th pick. But two things have since become clear: Macdonald and his staff plan to play the explosive rookie at nickel, at least early on, and Bryant has continued to impress the organization with his preparation, mentality and his play.
“He’s in a great position,” Macdonald said. “I know he’s playing really confident right now, and you feel him out there. So we’re excited for Coby.”
Bryant found a home at safety after a nomadic start to his career.
While playing cornerback opposite Sauce Gardner in college at Cincinnati, he won the 2021 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back. The Seahawks drafted him in the fourth round in 2022 and converted him to nickelback, a role he filled throughout his rookie season.
The move inside was a mild success at first. Bryant forced four fumbles and recorded a pair of sacks that season while playing the seventh-most snaps of any Seattle defender. But his 2023 season was derailed by a pair of toe injuries — one sidelined him for two months — and the arrival of Devon Witherspoon. The fifth pick that year, Witherspoon usurped Bryant at nickelback in September on his way to a Pro Bowl rookie season.
Then came another position switch that would change the trajectory of Bryant’s career. He began 2024 behind veteran free agent addition Rayshawn Jenkins on the depth chart at safety, but he he made enough plays in practice to force his way onto the field in sub packages. When Jenkins went down with a hand injury, Bryant highlighted his first start with an interception that helped close out an October win over the Atlanta Falcons.
“I’m not surprised,” Macdonald said postgame of Bryant. “Again, this guy just keeps playing at a high level. … He just sees how plays progress. He just seems like he’s in the right spot all the time on these overthrows and patrolling the deep area of the field.”
Bryant would add two more interceptions, including one he returned 69 yards for a touchdown in a November win over the Arizona Cardinals to earn NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. While the midseason arrival of linebacker Ernest Jones IV got much of the credit for the Seahawks’ defensive turnaround, that surge also owed a good deal to Bryant replacing Jenkins in the starting lineup.
While Bryant was named after the late Los Angeles Lakers star, Love likened him to another NBA legend.
“Coby has a chip on his shoulder, and that’s why we all love him so much,” Love said. “It’s kind of like [Michael] Jordan in ‘The Last Dance.’ He takes everything personal. That’s the type of person he is. He competes in everything he does, and when he’s quiet, he’s locked in and in the zone. … I think we just love Coby for who he is, and he works his ass off.”
The Seahawks and Emmanwori reached an agreement Thursday night on a fully guaranteed contract, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It was another significant domino in the league-wide standoff between teams and unsigned second-round picks over guarantee in their rookie deals. Emmanwori had been the highest-drafted among that group, and with guarantee percentages typically based off the preceding selection, plenty of eyes were on the 35th overall pick.
But he isn’t the only Seahawks safety whose contract situation bears watching.
