Seahawks EDGE Tyreke Smith 'Stacking Days' After Lost Rookie Season

After more than a year without playing in a game, Tyreke Smith has relished the chance to finally play in front of the 12s this preseason and after a breakout outing against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night, he looks primed to make an impact for the Seattle Seahawks.

SEATTLE, Wash. - Stuck on the sidelines for the entirety of his rookie season due to injury, Tyreke Smith didn't get a chance to contribute to a surprise playoff run for the Seattle Seahawks.

But while Smith hated not being able to pitch in as many of his rookie peers such as Charles Cross, Boye Mafe, and Riq Woolen made an immediate impact, the former Ohio State standout tried to handle the situation with a glass half full approach. Rather than dwell on the fact that he couldn't play, he turned his attention to sharpening the mental side of his game and hitting the weight room to prepare for his eventual return.

It's been a long road back to the field rehabbing from hip surgery, but as he battles for a roster spot in a deep edge rushing group, those measures have started paying off between the lines for Smith this preseason. With his nerves more in check in his second career game on Saturday night, he finished with team-high seven tackles and his first career sack and tackle for loss to help Seattle seal a 22-14 preseason win over Dallas.

“It was hard, but I didn’t really look at it as a negative," Smith said of the difficulties not being able to play in 2022. "I looked at it as a positive to increase my mental, get stronger in my foundation and it gave me a chance to get my body all the way healthy so I could give the team the impact that they needed.”

Playing in a live game for the first time in more than a year against the Vikings on August 10, Smith admitted he had plenty of butterflies after such a long layoff. But after taking a few hits and getting into the flow of the action, he started to find his comfort zone as if it was just another practice, recording three tackles and a quarterback pressure on 29 snaps.

Seeing a similar workload against Dallas on Saturday night, Smith elevated his game both as a pass rusher and a run defender, exhibiting more confidence and playing quicker off the snap. The fifth-round pick turned in several splashy plays, including slanting hard inside and shedding a block by right tackle Alex Taylor-Prioleau to penetrate the B-gap for a two-yard tackle for loss on running back Malik Davis in the second quarter, leading to a punt two plays later.

Per Pro Football Focus charting, Smith recorded three stops signified as failed plays for the offense, including a pair of run stops to earn a stellar 79.9 grade. Turning in a far better outing compared to a week earlier finishing plays at the point of attack as well as chasing down runners in backside pursuit, he played a key role in limiting the Cowboys to under 100 rushing yards and just 3.7 yards per carry.

“I feel like every rep, I go out there, and it just slows down more and more," Smith remarked after the game. "I felt like, early on in camp, I was kind of a little rusty, and it took some time to knock off the rust. Each day I try to go in there and go in to practice and work on something maybe that I didn’t do good the last day. It’s been paying off. I’m trying to stack days. Just stack good days and become an impact for the team.”

To put the dagger in the coffin in the closing minute, Smith ran a country mile chasing after quarterback Will Grier, who continued to move backward in the pocket trying to find a receiver to fling a desperate fourth down prayer to. Instead, with nobody open, the second-year edge wound up wrapping him up for a 20-yard loss and a turnover on downs, securing an eight-point victory for the Seahawks.

After seeing Smith improve as training camp progressed, coach Pete Carroll was pleased to see such results carry over into a game situation, assessing his performance as a major stepping stone to carving out a role in Seattle's pass rushing rotation.

"He did well tonight," Carroll said. "Now, it's taken him some time in camp. But he had a really impressive week. You could see it coming. The fact that he goes out and does it in the game, it's kind of what you hope happens from the coaching perspective. He did it. He was quick, assertive. He used his calls and stunts and things really well to make plays in the backfield from the backside."

In addition to his defensive contributions on Saturday night, Smith continues to dip his toes into the realm of special teams, something he didn't do much at Ohio State. In four seasons with the Buckeyes, he logged a grand total of 43 special teams snaps, with most of those coming on the punt return team when he already had been in the lineup on defense.

Competing for defensive playing time against veterans Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor as well as fellow second-year rusher Boye Mafe, second-round pick Derick Hall, and upstart undrafted rookie Levi Bell, Smith prioritized becoming proficient in the third phase of the game during his time out. Diligently watching film and digging into his playbook, his hard work behind the scenes manifested onto the field on Saturday as he flew down the field to record a tackle on kickoff coverage.

"I took the initiative to really get in the film and get in the books on special teams," Smith said. "I’m trying to give my team the impact in whatever way I can so that when they told me I would be playing that, I tried to watch as much film, try to learn as much as I can. Each day I try to stack days, and I’m getting better and better at it.”

As Carroll stated in his post-game commentary, the Seahawks still haven't gotten to see Smith much on the field compared to the rest of the team's outside linebacker competitors and the evaluation process with him remains ongoing. Making plays on defense and special teams as he did on Saturday will endear him to the coaching staff and with his injury behind him, he's certainly trending in the right direction to "get in that rotation with our guys."

But with so much talent around him vying for playing time, turning in another strong week and playing well in the preseason finale in Green Bay will be crucial for Smith to solidify a role alongside Nwosu, Mafe, Taylor, and Hall. The emergence of Bell, who can also play fullback in a pinch and has shined on special teams in Seattle's two exhibition games, has put additional heat on him.

After having the game taken away from him last year, Smith isn't putting too much thought into the positional battle, however. Grateful to be back on the field after a redshirt season dedicated to righting his mind and body, he's eager to help the Seahawks any way he can and believes Saturday's breakthrough performance is just the tip of the spear as he aims to carve out a meaningful role off the edge.

“It’s been great, man. My last game was my first competitive game in two years. Every moment I get on the field is like surreal, and I just thank God for putting me in this position and giving me the guidance and the strength to be here. Thank the team, they’ve been rallying behind me. It’s been a great camp, just working every day, trying to stack days, make sure I get better each day.”

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