Kevon Seymour Begins Another Climb From "Rock Bottom"

Money was running low and bills were piling up.

It had been one year since Kevon Seymour had a job in the NFL. With a wife and a third child on the way, he took a job selling tires and working in customer service for Blue Tire Exchange in Charlotte, N.C.

“I was at a low,” said Seymour. “I hit rock bottom, but I’m from rock bottom, so when I hit rock bottom, it was nothing new.”

Seymour’s climb out may have begun Sunday when injuries in the Eagles’ secondary forced him into a defensive role. He played 35 defensive snaps against the Saints and made five tackles. He played another 15 on special teams.

It wasn’t perfect, but it had been a while for Seymour, about two years to be exact since he last played in a game, heck since he was last on a team.

The Eagles added him to the practice squad on Dec. 2 and had him active against New Orleans, and it was a good thing because the team lost both starting cornerbacks, Darius Slay (concussion) and Avonte Maddox (knee) during the game.

"He’s a guy from day one he’s right next to coach M (DB coach Marquand Manuel) or asking me or Rod (McLeod) and even (Darius) Slay, asking so many questions - how can he line up this way, how do we play this, why do we do this, why do we do that?," said safety Jalen Mills.

"When you see that in a guy, he told me he’s been out of football for two years, that lets you know he’s not just satisfied with being here, he’s a guy who wants to keep elevating his game. When you have a guy like that, especially with me, I’m always willing to help."

With Maddox expected to miss some time and Slay in concussion protocol, there could be a role for Seymour in Arizona against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Seymour, who just turned 27 last month and has good length at 6-feet, 185 pounds, is no stranger to adversity, and he has overcome it throughout his life.

Raised by a single mother in Section 8 housing with a twin brother, Seymour played at John Muir High School in Pasadena then went to USC, where he played in 35 games as a cornerback from his sophomore to senior year, making 102 tackles and intercepting three passes.

He became a sixth-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2016, played in 15 games, with three starts, then found himself in Carolina the following year, playing 16 games with the Panthers, including two starts.

Then came injuries. In 2018, he had double shoulder surgery. He returned after a lengthy rehab then injured a hamstring and it wasn’t long after that he had wrist surgery.

Just like that, football was gone for him.

“My first few years in the league, I was just saving, saving and saving, and saving as much as I can, helping my wife out of debt with her student loan, and just getting everybody out of debt,” he said. “Just taking care of bills and stuff … My money got low because after over a year of not getting paid and stuff, things start to get hard and you start to wonder and try to figure out different ways to stay positive even when things are not OK.”

That was when Seymour took the job with the tire company in Charlotte.

"I used to go there all the time, conversate with the guys and the owner and stuff," he said. "They actually gave me a job. I was doing something, other than football, doing something that I love, working with customers, interacting with people, so I was doing that just to kind of keep my mind free and clear, and not just get caught up in the actual situation and where I was and things weren’t going the way I wanted them to go.

"So I was trying to stay as positive as possible by getting out and doing things."

Seymour said he wanted to give his three children a better life than he had growing up, even though his mother “gave us the world.”

“But it’s tough living in the projects, Section 8 living, and things like that,” he said.

His mom would leave the house every morning at 6 a.m., he said, and would not get back until 7 or 8 p.m.

Now, his three children, daughters Karsyn (age 4) and Kendall (2), and son Kruz (nine months) drive him. They were a reason he did not lose his vision of playing again in the NFL as a year passed without football.

“Just giving my kids a better life than I had, and you know having a two-parent household was something I didn’t have growing up,” he said. “All that stuff was going through my head during that time (away from the game). It was my first time actually just sitting down, being home. It was up to me to continue my training because I could’ve given up. I got my degree and then my wife, we have our degrees … But I always kept my faith in God and hoped for an opportunity, and I just took advantage.”

The Eagles gave him that opportunity. They had been in touch with Seymour earlier this season and, while he said he had workouts with two other teams, he knew the Eagles were going to be the team.

He got the call then had to spend five days quarantined in a hotel room, where he said he brought his stretching bands to stay limber and a jump rope that he used when he turned the heat up in his room to keep his cardio strong.

The workout for the Eagles came after that followed by a spot on the practice. Eleven days later, he was suiting up and playing, all the adversity having paid off, at least for the moment.

“It’s been a journey,” he said. “I’m going to give thanks to God, just for giving me the opportunity.”

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