Rylie Mills Hopes to Build Momentum Off Super Bowl Sack, ACL Recovery

Not many players can say their first sack in the NFL came in the Super Bowl, but Seattle Seahawks defensive end Rylie Mills is one of the exceptions.

Mills' rookie season with the Seahawks was highlighted by recovering from a torn ACL he suffered during his final collegiate year at Notre Dame, but he was able to get in the spotlight during the Super Bowl by sacking Drake Maye in Seattle's win over the New England Patriots.

"It's funny because I don't remember the play at all," Mills said via Seahawks.com writer Ali Horton. "I kind of just blacked out and went, and just remembered after the play, celebrating. It's cool to look back like 'Man, that worked out perfect.'"

Rylie Mills Hopes Super Bowl Sack Was Just the Beginning

Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Rylie Mills against the New England Patriots. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Mills has enjoyed a fresh offseason, where he hopes to become a regular contributor for the Seahawks defensive line, which showcased strong depth throughout last season. While Mills was unable to play for a majority of the season, he still found ways to contribute off the field.

Now that he is fully healed, he believes he is getting back to the player he was at Notre Dame.

"I felt like from the start of the injury and the rehab process, you go through so many different phases and the ultimate goal is to get back and get back to who I was before the injury," Mills said via Horton.

"I feel like now I'm fully back to myself and fully back to who I was before the injury. So, I want to step in that role and be a player that gets better every day. For me, it's just about that improvement, and I know not everything's been perfect, but I want to get better each and every day that I'm out here."

Mills still has four months with mandatory minicamp, training camp and the preseason to continue improving his game, which will give him a chance to be even better than the player he was before tearing his ACL. Mills is expected to compete for snaps in the second string alongside Mike Morris, Bubba Thomas and J.R. Singleton.

Throughout OTAs, Mills is getting stronger and if he continues to work on his game, he should carve out a pretty substantial role for himself with the Seahawks this season.

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