Beau Stephens Looking to Build Off ‘Awesome, Nerve Racking' Seahawks’ Debut

During his first few weeks as an NFL player, Seattle Seahawks guard Beau Stephens hasn’t had to worry about media members flocking to his locker during the 40 minutes prior to practice, keeping as much of his rookie paycheck as possible.

But after performing well in his regular season debut in a 31-7 win over the Cardinals last weekend as part of a platoon with third-year guard Christian Haynes, Stephens won’t be able to enjoy the luxury of hiding in the shadows anymore. With the news starter Anthony Bradford would be going on injured reserve and miss at least the next four games, the next man up radar has zeroed in on the fifth round pick out of Iowa, who will now be competing against Haynes for the chance to see even more playing time for the Seahawks over the next month.

As Stephens strolled out of the locker room to speak with reporters, starting left guard Grey Zabel and others shouted, “Change! Change!,” happily reminding him of the offensive line’s well-known fine policy and the toll he would have to pay for his increased popularity.

“It’s the cost of doing business, honestly,” Stephens smiled, watching as teammates snuck behind the scrum of reporters taking pictures of him to document his “fine-worthy transgressions.”