New dad, ex-Husky Myles Gaskin finally gets ‘dream’ call from hometown Seahawks
Myles Gaskin wasn’t exactly laying around just waiting for his phone to ring when his hometown NFL team called — finally.
“I was actually burping my daughter,” the proud, new dad to 11-week-old Amara Cole Gaskin said at his new Seahawks locker Wednesday.
A couple hours earlier, the 28-year-old former star running back at the University of Washington and O’Dea High School in Seattle was in his Lynnwood home. He working — as a full-time father to his first child.
Then a spot suddenly opened on the Seahawks’ practice squad. Chicago was signing running back Khalil Herbert off Seattle’s practice squad, onto the Bears’ active roster.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider knew Gaskin well. They’d scouted him across Lake Washington while he was a Rose Bowl starter setting UW’s all-time rushing record with 5,323 yards and 57 touchdowns. Yet the Miami Dolphins, not hometown Seattle, selected him in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL draft.
The Seahawks’ personnel staff knew Gaskin had been unsigned since late August, when the Baltimore Ravens released him at the end of the preseason. Schneider and his pro scouts knew Gaskin was staying ready working out at the Ford Sports Performance Center in Tukwila, about 15 minutes down Interstate 405 from Seahawks headquarters. The Seahawks had him in last week for a free-agent tryout.
So they called Gaskin Wednesday morning, four days before the Seahawks (3-1) host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) at Lumen Field (Sunday, 1:05 p.m., CBS television, KIRO channel 7 locally).
By noon, he was in the team facility wearing his new Seahawks number 22. He was on the field an hour later, signed to the practice squad to add depth behind lead back Kenneth Walker managing foot pain and number-two runner Zach Charbonnet coming off his own, recent foot injury.
“You know, it happens quick,” Gaskin said, grinning.
“Just a quick turnaround. A great blessing.
“Dream come true.”
Myles Gaskins’ long road home
He wanted the Seahawks to draft him, of course. He wanted to stay home, close to where he grew up. Parents Robbie and Scott Gaskin raised Myles and his older brother by three years Ivan in a neighborhood near Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood.
But the year he came out of UW the Seahawks chose running back Travis Homer out of the University of Miami instead, in the sixth round of the 2019 draft. Homer played the four seasons of his rookie contract with Seattle. He has played in 75 regular-season games over six seasons for the Seahawks and Bears. He is currently on Chicago’s injured-reserve list.
Gaskin’s NFL journey has been more wandering since he left UW a star.
He was on injured reserve for three of his first four pro seasons with the Dolphins. They released and re-signed him, then released him again at the end of the 2023 preseason.
He played in two games for the Minnesota Vikings and one game for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023. He was briefly a teammate in L.A. with now-Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
Last season the Vikings signed Gaskin back. He spent the 2024 season on and off Minnesota’s practice squad. He ultimately played in five games with new Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold on the Vikings last season. They released him in December.
Jacksonville signed him late last season to its practice squad, then released him. The Ravens signed him in early August, after their training camp began. That late start with them made it tough for Gaskin to make the team. He didn’t. Baltimore released him Aug. 27, the league’s cut day to set initial regular-season rosters.
In all, five teams have released and signed or re-signed Gaskin 24 times in seven years since he left UW. He’s played in 46 games with 17 starts over six NFL seasons. He’s averaged 29.4 yards rushing per game in those 46 career games. His best season was 612 yards rushing with three touchdowns on the ground for the Dolphins in 2021.
How long had he been waiting for the Seahawks to call him?
“Shoot,” he said, “since draft day.
“Man, probably since I was a little kid, honestly.
“But I always had some hope. Always held out hope, and prayed to God to hopefully get signed...get signed...get signed.
“And then it happens. Luckily, it’s here. God’s been good.”
Myles Gaskin’s possible fit
Gaskin knows he’s where he was this summer with the Ravens: Joining late, running uphill to make an impression on a team whose plans for this season didn’t include him.
But there is an opportunity for him with Seattle. He’s the only running back on the 17-man practice squad. His new coach, Mike Macdonald, constantly preaches then shows through practice-squad promotions and signings the Seahawks are a 70-man team, not just 53 on the active roster. Previous third running back Kenny McIntosh is out for the season on injured reserve. Jacardia Wright, a standout in preseason games, is on practice-squad injured reserve.
Gaskin is trying to make enough of an impression to compete with George Holani to be a third back behind Walker and Charbonnet, or a backfill if Charbonnet or Walker can’t play because of injuries.
“They got some great running backs. I mean, I’ve always, I’m always keeping track of Seattle (being) from here,” Gaskin said. “So, Zach, K-9, those dudes are doing exactly what they’re supposed to. So hopefully I can learn as much as I can from them, and help them grow, just being a little bit older, being able to speak to what I’ve seen in my past.
“I‘m here to just help this team do anything I can. I showed up late, so I’m kind of running behind, kind of learning the plays. But I’m able to take this in for what it is.
“Right now, in this moment, I’m just trying to pick up the playbook as fast as I can.”
This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 10:37 AM.
