Seattle Seahawks guard Christian Haynes has a chance to put his hometown of Bowie, Md., in the spotlight under the bright lights of the NFL.
Haynes, 24, was selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft in the spring after serving as a four-year starter at the University of Connecticut. The 6-foot-2, 318-pound guard ended his career by starting 49 consecutive games, earning All-America honors in 2022 and 2023.
Haynes looks up to his brother, Marcus, now a practice squad linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He originally signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion in 2023. That experience makes Marcus a valuable resource for his younger brother.
“It’s been great. [Marcus] helped me a lot during my process,” Christian Haynes said on Glenn Clark Radio Aug. 30. “Seeing him grind last year, he gave me different pointers on what to do while being in the building and how to just handle myself as a pro.”
Haynes is expected to open the season as a reserve guard with Seattle. Training camp and preseason gave him just a small taste of what is to come in his NFL career.
“I was just thinking about that time I was that little kid back in Maryland, just having my dream of being in the NFL and now just running out that tunnel for the first game, it was a great feeling, exciting feeling for me as well,” Haynes said.
In Seattle, the rookie is learning from head coach Mike Macdonald, the former defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens. Haynes does not have a doubt in his mind that Macdonald will only make him smarter on the field and help him improve in any way possible.
“The guy knows football, he is very smart,” Haynes said. “He’s kind of a quiet guy, but man, he is a smart dude, and he gets on us not as one of those super hard coaches but one of those guys that’s going to say what he needs to say and is going to register to everybody. I like that about him.”
Haynes understands that consistency, hard work and determination are factors needed in order to enjoy a long tenure in the league. But that’s nothing new for Haynes. While growing up in Prince George’s County, he had a chance to go to a private school rather than Bowie High School.
When the opportunity came to move away, Haynes thought it would be best to stick to his roots.
“Being in public school was a whole different grind,” Haynes said. “I chose not to go to private school, I had opportunities to go to private school, but I decided to stay public and grind it out from there.”
For more from Haynes, listen to the full interview here: