Former Seattle Seahawk Shaquill Griffin to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars: Report - oregonlive.com

 When Shaquill Griffin first became a Seahawk in 2017 he was immediately thrust into trying to navigate life as an NFL player while joining what will forever be known as one of the greatest secondaries in NFL history.

Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor were each entering what would become their final Seahawks season that year. Earl Thomas began his second-to-last in Seattle.

After playing four seasons in Seattle and earning one Pro Bowl nod, Griffin left and played with Jacksonville, Houston, Carolina and Minnesota before again becoming a Seahawk in July when he signed a one-year contract worth up to $3 million.

And where he was once one of the kids, he is now 30 years old and the 10th-oldest of 91 players on the roster. He’s also now a family man, a father of three with his fiancée.

“It is definitely different when you have three babies running around,’’ said Griffin, who has a 5-year-old son, 2-year-old daughter and 3-month-old son. His fiancé is Shauntrell Pender, a hip-hop artist who performs under the name Tokyo Jetz.

 

“But they give me an extra spirit to come out here and continue to do what I got to do. Being over here nine years now in this league and continue to do it at a high level, man, it feels great. I remember talking to (Richard) Sherman on the sideline earlier (Sherman was a visitor at practice Sunday) and I said, ‘I finally get what y’all was saying. When you get a little older, your warmups get a little longer.’’’

Griffin has been forced to ease into things even more as he practiced with the team just once during the first two days of training camp before having to leave for a week-and-a-half to tend to personal issues. He returned to practice Saturday and has gotten some snaps in team drills but also has spent ample time conditioning during early drills.

Coach Mike Macdonald said Griffin would not be tasked with immediately playing full out and that the team had a plan for getting him back up to full speed.

Once he gets to that point, Griffin is expected to compete with Josh Jobe for the third cornerback spot behind Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen.

Griffin says he’ll play whatever “role they need me to be.”

“I still have a lot of tricks in my bag that I learned when I first got here from Richard Sherman,’’ Griffin said. “So, I’m continuing to give whatever I can, whatever role it is for me, if it’s coming in for different packages or being here to inspire the young guys to continue to lead the right way for the future to come — whatever it is, I’m a team-player first.’’

Griffin sifted through a few different offers after he became a free agent in the spring when he was not re-signed by the Vikings. 

Griffin showed he can still play last season, getting 572 snaps in different cornerback roles with a Vikings team that went 14-3 and allowed the fifth-fewest points in the NFL.

Among his suitors was his former coach Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders. Griffin visited both the Seahawks and Raiders in the spring before signing with Seattle in early July.

“I got a chance to meet with Pete in Vegas,’’ Griffin said. “I think it’s a time where Pete was competing for everybody to go to Vegas. It was only right. But getting a chance to see Pete. That was still good. Still got love for Pete. But it felt right being back home, back where it started, even if Pete wasn’t here.”

Griffin said his growing family also played a role in his decision.

“A lot of equations that I had to think about before making the final decision,’’ he said. “So, one thing about it, my fiancée, my kids, are right behind me, so (that) made this decision easy to come right back home where it all started.” 

Griffin said he also feels comfortable in Macdonald’s scheme, saying it will give him “a chance to be aggressive.” 

“I love it,’’ he said. “It still gives me a chance to be aggressive. … The best thing about it, you give everybody a chance to do what they do best. It’s off coverage, so press coverage, everybody got a position where they can make the best plays for themselves.” 

He also felt comfortable with the coaches, even if Macdonald is only eight years older.

“My coach is a little closer to my age, so that’s a little different,’’ he said. “But I feel like a lot of the talks had something that we can all relate to, and it was all good.’’

Being back in Seattle also reminds Griffin of when he played alongside his twin brother Shaquem for three seasons from 2018-20 as Shaquem became the first player with just one hand to be drafted in league history. 

Shaquem Griffin also moved on from the Seahawks after the 2020 season and retired in 2022.

But like Shaquill, Shaquem Griffin also plans to soon make his own return to Seattle.

“Brother is doing good,’’ Shaquill Griffin said. “He’s supposed to be out here week one. I’ll be excited to see him. He’s doing a lot of good things off the field. He’s starting his own motivational speaking firm and he’s got into different tech companies (specifically with a company called Consumer Launch Pad). So you’ll see him a lot more. I told him he doesn’t have a choice but to come here and support. He’ll be here week one and I’ll make sure he’ll be right here at this facility.”