'Grit of a Seahawk': How S Ryan Neal Embodies Seattle's Identity
Under coach Pete Carroll, the Seattle Seahawks have established a clear identity, both in terms of the players they pursue and style they play.
"They play hard, they’re very fundamentally sound, they're disciplined in all three phases," Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said.
Perhaps nobody illustrates these characteristics as much as fifth-year safety Ryan Neal.
Undrafted out of Southern Illinois in 2018, Neal was waived by both the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons during his first training camp, ultimately settling on Atlanta's practice squad for his rookie year.
He was waived once more the following training camp, ultimately signing with the Seahawks shortly thereafter. Despite fluctuating between the practice squad and active roster, Neal's found a home in Seattle.
After a quiet first year in which he saw action in just three games (all on special teams), Neal emerged in 2020, playing in 13 contests with four starts and playing over 40 percent of the defensive snaps in his appearances. The season after, Neal played in all but one game, logging five starts while establishing himself as a key contributor on special teams.
The journey - the grind - has led Neal to a stellar fifth season, as he's started each of the last 10 games. Despite battling injuries, Neal has persevered to be a consistent leader on the back end of Seattle's defense ... and his effort in Thursday night's 21-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers was no different.
Neal, fighting a knee injury, didn't participate in practice leading up to the game - but somehow, someway played every single snap in the loss, finishing with five tackles.
It was an unbelievable display of toughness and commitment from Neal, one that makes the Indiana native a spitting image of what Seattle's identity is all about.
"He's shown us the grit of a Seahawk," Carroll said. "He's exactly the heart of it and how we want it to be. He represents in everything that he does - what we stand for and what we believe in and how tough he is and how willing he is to go for it. He said, 'I can play, I'm playing,' and he couldn't run all week long. But he made it, and he played a good game."
Carroll added that he's "hopeful" the three days off before preparation starts for next week's game against the Kansas City Chiefs will help Neal, who's still hobbled.
But even if he's not close to full strength, Neal will almost certainly be on the field for Seattle, because he simply cares too much and is wired too differently to let anything get in the way of his outstanding season.
"It's a toughness," fellow starting safety Quandre Diggs said. "Me and Ryan, we look at each other and we just feel like we can't leave each other out to dry, no matter what we're going through. For us, we owe it to each other to be out there every snap and every play. He's always checking on me and I'm always checking on him, the friendship and the bond that me and him have. We've been doing this thing together for the last three years, a lot."
Diggs has been fighting a shoulder issue of late, but the reigning two-time Pro Bowler has, like Neal, fought through it. The Seahawks have played 972 snaps on defense this year ... and Diggs has been on the field for all of them.
With star safety Jamal Adams missing all but the season opener, Diggs has missed his running mate, but he's found belief and reassurance in Neal that's helped foster a stellar relationship between the two.
"He's somebody that I know that I'm going to get everything I can get out of him, and he knows the same way around," said Diggs. "I apply that, because when I can look next to me and I can see him next to me, it just kind of puts me at ease and lets me know, you're job is a little bit easier. Twenty-Six is going to be in there and twenty-six is going to give it his all. You just got to keep grinding."
There's no doubt that Neal will keep grinding; it's helped lead him from undrafted free agent to "heart" of the Seahawks, from being waived four times to becoming someone who puts his teammates "at ease."
Neal's not the flashiest player on the team, nor the most productive or well-known. But he just might be the hardest-playing, most fundamentally sound and best disciplined player on the team.
Or, in other words, he might be ... the walking definition of a Seattle Seahawk.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
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