RENTON — For players like Russell Wilson, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and several other Seattle Seahawks, next week’s game against the New England Patriots is a chance to defend a Super Bowl championship.
But for Landon Cohen, it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
For most of this season, Cohen was out of football altogether. He went to training camp with the Buffalo Bills, but was waived before the regular season, and when no other teams called he returned to his home in Spartanburg, S.C., where he owns and operates a valet parking company with two longtime friends.
A call from the Seahawks brought him to Seattle for a tryout a few weeks ago, and he was added to the active roster prior to the team’s first playoff game against Carolina on Jan. 10.
Next week Cohen will be on the field with his new teammates for Super Bowl XLIX, and it will be the culmination of a journey that is both truly remarkable and wholly improbable.
“If you play football, the Super Bowl is the pinnacle,” said the 28-year-old Cohen, a reserve defensive tackle. “What I’m going to attempt to do is be present in every moment … and to just embrace everything that goes around it.”
Cohen, originally a seventh-round draft pick by Detroit in 2008 out of Ohio University, has never played more than two consecutive seasons with any NFL team. He has been signed by nine teams (two of them, including the Seahawks, twice), but has played for six teams in the regular season and postseason with a total of 42 career games.
In 2011 Cohen played in just one game for the New England Patriots. The next season he did not play at all. After playing in two games for Dallas and 13 games for Chicago a year ago, he signed with Buffalo last summer but was cut in the preseason.
He returned to Spartanburg and waited for a call that finally came late in the regular season. With defensive linemen Brandon Mebane and Jordan Hill lost to injuries, the Seahawks were looking to bolster their front and they summoned Cohen for a tryout.
He was added to the roster for the game against the Panthers, but was inactive. Last weekend, he got 14 snaps against Green Bay in the NFC championship game, including being part of two goal-line stands by Seattle early in the game.
“We always expect guys to come in and keep the same (high) standard … and Cohen’s come in and played great,” said Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett.
“He’s had to go through the ringer of the NFL,” Bennett added. “Getting cut and you keep coming back, (which is) one of the hardest things for people to do. … There’s something about his spirit and his will, and that’s why he’s good for our team. When you have guys that have a chip on their shoulder, they can come in and (contribute).”
Said Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn: “For the first time out, that’s a hard job after not playing all year. It was important for him to get a few weeks of practice here with us and then get back into it. So for the first time out, he did well.”
Joining the Seahawks, even for the season’s final few weeks, “has been a fun experience,” Cohen said. “It’s been great getting to know these guys, and feeling the energy in the stadium was awesome.”
The funny thing is, he is still getting acquainted with many of his new teammates. “There’s a lot of them I still don’t know,” he admitted, “but once you’re in the locker room it’s a real close setting. You interact with a bunch of guys. And it’s a really good team environment. They’ve really welcomed me well.
“I’m grateful to be around these guys. I’ve never been around a team where everybody has the same goal. Everybody wants to win, and that in itself is probably the best thing I can say.”
Cohen worked as a parking valet to earn pocket money in high school, and the idea of turning it into a full-time business took hold in 2012. The company, called The Valet LLC, coordinates parking for restaurants, weddings and other events in the city’s downtown area.
The Super Bowl “could be very, very good for business, and I hope it is,” Cohen said.
As for next season, he is unsure if the Seahawks will want him back. About the only thing he knows for certain, then, is that he will return to his home in Spartanburg in the coming weeks — unlike many teammates who will no doubt head off for lavish vacations.
In a few weeks “I’ll be back working, which is fine by me,” Cohen said. “In fact, right when I get back home I’ll probably have an event to work.”
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