It was a good day back on the job for reigning Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith.
Smith missed all offseason workouts and the start of training camp for the Seattle Seahawks after having ankle surgery this spring. After a limited workload in his first practice on Monday, Smith was ramped up to full participation in practice on Tuesday. It didn’t take long for Smith to flash the form with which he finished the 2013 season.
Smith perfectly positioned himself in the throwing lane of quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and made a leaping one-handed interception that he returned 60 yards for a touchdown.
Safety Earl Thomas, linebacker K.J. Wright and other members of the Seahawks defense chased Smith into the endzone with shouts of “MVP! MVP!” trailing him for the score.
“Hopefully keep it rolling,” Smith said. “I don’t think one practice will do it all but just trying to stack some good days together.”
Smith became a key contributor on Seattle’s defense last season and became indispensable late in the year. Smith had four interceptions in the final five games the Seahawks played. His interception of a tipped pass by Richard Sherman for Michael Crabtree sealed the NFC Championship for Seattle, while his 69-yard interception of Peyton Manning and fumble recovery of Demaryius Thomas in the Super Bowl helped earn him most-valuable player honors.
Seattle has been without three of their top four linebackers for the majority of training camp. Smith is the first to return with Bruce Irvin and Bobby Wagner both expected back in the next couple weeks. Wagner and Irvin could both return to practice as soon as next week.