Fully healthy, Seahawks' Rylie Mills eager to build on his Super Bowl sack | Notebook
RENTON - Of course Seahawks defensive lineman Rylie Mills has watched a replay of his Super Bowl sack a few times since that glorious February afternoon in Santa Clara.
"A couple times, Mills said with a laugh Thursday. "Maybe more than a couple."
And why not?
Mills' sack of New England quarterback Drake Maye that turned a second-and-seven into a third-and-17 came early in the second quarter around the time it became apparent the Patriots had no real answers for Seattle's defense in what was an eventual 29-13 win for the Seahawks.
On the play, Mills simply bull-rushed guard Jared Wilson back into Maye, essentially getting a sack of both players.
Also, it was only by watching it again that Mills really knew what happened.
"It's funny because I don't remember the play at all," he said. "Like, I kind of just blacked out and just remembered after the play celebrating. But it's cool to look back and ‘man, that worked out perfectly.'"
A perfect ending to an imperfect season.
Mills spent most of the year continuing to rehab a torn ACL suffered in Dec., 2024 while playing with Notre Dame, an injury that also helped lead to a draft-day fall to the fifth round.
Mills made it back for week 15 and then played 20 snaps combined in the final four regular season games.
He only played one snap in the first two playoff games, however, not seeing action at all in the divisional round win over the 49ers.
That left it somewhat unclear how big of a role he might have in the Super Bowl.
Mills played only five snaps, as it turned out, but that was enough to make one of the game's signature plays.
"It kind of just felt like the end of a long chapter in my career," he said. "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. So I think just that moment really was kind of a storybook ending on it. But I feel like I closed that chapter and ready for this next chapter to start."
Indeed, Mills is hoping that sack is simply a sign of a lot more to come. Mills says he now feels 100% and "fully back to myself." He has been able to practice consistently throughout the offseason program.
"I feel great," he said. "It's been nice having that offseason to kind of get back to working out and getting my body back. But I feel great. I feel like a whole different player than I was when I first came back (last season).
Mills is expected to play a role on the line similar in usage to that of Leonard Williams in lining up both inside and at end. He has often lined up at a tackle spot next to Byron Murphy II during OTAs.
"That guy is a freak,'' Mills said. "I know every time I play next to him something crazy is going to happen, so I can play off him and I think make a great group inside.''
Bradford sits out day after hurting knee
Right guard Anthony Bradford did not practice a day after he left midway through after appearing to injure his knee. Bradford, however, was on the sidelines and walking around, not appearing to have a serious issue. Coach Mike Macdonald did not speak to media so there was no update on any injury issues.
With Bradford out, third-year player Christian Haynes again got most of the reps working with the starting offense at right guard with rookie Beau Stephens working with the backups.
During one team session, Olu Oluwatimi - who is currently usually working as the backup center to Jalen Sundell - also got some work with the starting offense at right guard.
Bradford, who started all 17 regular season games and three playoff games last year at right guard, is entering the final season of his four-year rookie contract. That, and the drafting of Stephens in the fifth round - after Seattle traded a fourth-round pick in the 2027 draft to move up - has led to conjecture that the right guard spot will be among the more hotly contested in camp. Bradford, though, had appeared to still be the clear number one in OTAs before sitting out Thursday.
The Seahawks are also scheduled to be on the field for three practices next week for the team's mandatory minicamp.
Notes
• First-round pick running back Jadarian Price turned in one of the day's highlight plays with a juggling catch down the sideline made under tight defense from linebacker Tyrice Knight.
• Along with Bradford's absence, another player who did not practice Thursday was safety Nick Emmanwori (again, with Macdonald not scheduled to speak to media there were no personnel updates). Otherwise, there wasn't much change to the personnel situation from Wednesday. One player who returned was second-year offensive lineman Bryce Cabeldue, who sat out Wednesday. But most of the players who have been sitting out while rehabbing from injuries remained out and may remain sidelined through minicamp next week.
• With tight ends AJ Barner, Eric Saubert and Elijah Arroyo all sitting out due to injuries, second-year player Nick Kallerup has been consistently working with the starting offense and had a couple nice catches.
• Cornerback Devon Witherspoon, with whom the team is negotiating a contract extension, again did not do 11-on-11 work during full-speed sessions. But he continues to do individual work and did 11-on-11 work during a slower-tempo walk-through type session.
• With Tory Horton still recovering from injury, Seattle's second three receivers - behind the starting trio of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed - has typically consisted of Jake Bobo, Cody White and second-year player Ricky White III. Bobo had another of the day's highlight plays with a reaching grab near the sideline of a Sam Darnold pass during a team session.
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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 6:41 AM.