RENTON — Even if, for a time last season, D’Anthony Bell was officially part of another team, he was always still a Seattle Seahawk at heart.
Even if to some, the circumstances that led to him having to watch the Super Bowl on a TV at home might have seemed like Exhibit A of how heartless the NFL can sometimes be.
Bell was there for all of the 2025 season for the Seahawks — from the offseason program through the dog days of training camp and for 16 regular-season games — until, suddenly, he wasn’t.
In a move to create a spot to place offensive tackle Amari Kight on the 53-man roster to assure depth at what was suddenly an injury-riddled spot heading into a pivotal game against the San Francisco 49ers to determine home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs, the Seahawks cut Bell on Dec. 30.
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The Seahawks’ plan was to immediately re-sign Bell to the practice squad once he cleared waivers. In fact, they had done exactly that two weeks earlier when he’d been waived, cleared waivers, re-signed to the practice squad and then eventually back to the active roster, and the Seahawks gambled he would get through waivers again.
All involved seemed so sure it was going to happen that Bell went to the VMAC the next day to sign a contract for the practice squad.
Only, this time he was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers, against whom he had just played for the Seahawks a few days earlier.
That meant quickly leaving the VMAC, packing his bags and catching a plane for Charlotte.
Bell played in just one game for the Panthers, on special teams in their playoff loss to the Rams, and said, “I’m not sure why they picked me up. It’s just one of those things that happened.’’
But that meant that while the Seahawks would go on to win the biggest prize in the NFL, Bell had to watch from afar.
“Honestly, a lot of us were kind of hurt and were pretty bummed that he wasn’t with us kind of down the stretch there,’’ said teammate and fellow safety Julian Love. “It was very real and it was talked about.’’
But in as vivid of a display as there could be of the kind of attitude that has so ingratiated Bell to his teammates and coaches, he recalls those weeks and said, “I wouldn’t change a thing.’’
“Of course it’s bittersweet,’’ he said. “The bitter part about it is leaving a Super Bowl-contending team and then the sweet part is knowing somebody else sees your talent enough to pick you up.’’
But far from seeming to harbor any feelings of FOMO, Bell said, “I wished the guys the best the whole time. I was still rooting for them because I had been here all year.’’
He still had his place in Seattle and returned to the city after Carolina’s season ended, which is where he watched the Super Bowl.
Bell said he reached out to some of his teammates after the game, helping him feel like he was still a part of it.
“It was just one of those situations where business was business,’’ Bell said.
Bell then made something of a business decision of his own.
The Seahawks had told Bell they hoped to bring him back for the 2026 season if they could.
Bell, who was set to become a free agent in March, then told his agent that he wanted to return to the Seahawks and asked that the Panthers release him, which they did on Jan. 14.
NFL rules meant he couldn’t re-sign with Seattle immediately and play during the playoffs, but he officially became a Seahawk again when he signed as a free agent on March 26.
Bell, though, makes clear he has no ill-will toward the Panthers, either.
“I love what they are doing there and what’s good for them,’’ he said. “But it was just what’s best for me.’’
Being back with the Seahawks officially made it all the better when the team held a party on June 11 to present players with Super Bowl rings.
The Seahawks didn’t have to give Bell a ring since he wasn’t officially on the roster at the time of the game. But the decision to do so was a no-brainer and allowed Bell to finally have the celebration he’d missed out on earlier.
“I was super excited about that,’’ Bell said. “It meant a lot. Growing up playing football, that’s all you dream of is winning the Super Bowl. So that was a big accomplishment for me.’’
It was a reward all involved said he richly deserved.
“It was cool that he still got a ring,’’ Love said. “It’s cool that he’s still really part of this thing, and we’re really happy to bring him back. … He was with us for most of the journey, but then for the fun parts down the stretch, he wasn’t there, but he was with us in spirit.’’
Bell first came to Seattle in March 2025 as a free agent after three years with the Cleveland Browns.
In fact, he turned down more money from the Browns, in part due to the influence of safeties coach Jeff Howard but also because he said he felt there was “an opportunity of building a family and a foundation of a good team.’’
He began the season on the practice squad but signed to the active roster after three games. He played in 14 games for the Seahawks last season and was a mainstay on special teams with 251 snaps, including a blocked punt that led to a touchdown in an early-season rout of New Orleans.
Bringing Bell back, though, was far from just a sentimental gesture.
The 29-year-old started two games early in the season against the Steelers and Saints when the team had injuries at safety, specifically to rookie Nick Emmanwori.
Now, as camp begins, Emmanwori is again sidelined, having arthroscopic surgery earlier this month with the hope to finally fix the issues with his right ankle that he first sprained in the opening game of the 2025 season and then again in practice four days before the Super Bowl.
During the first two days of training camp, Bell has typically been the one to play Emmanwori’s usual role as a third safety with the No. 1 defense.
“Given an opportunity, you guys are going to learn that he’s a playmaker,’’ Love said. “He was a playmaker in Cleveland, in practices last year, since he’s been out here. He makes plays because he has a knack for being around the ball. Whether it’s punching it out, whether it’s picking the ball off, you’ll see that. Some people have it, and he has that gene.”
Bell says he mostly hopes to use the reps he’s getting with the starting defense to “get better and get more trust as far as the teammates and getting everybody to trust me more and just more opportunities to do my job the right way and learn.’’
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