SALT LAKE CITY — It’s been nearly five years since former Utah State running back Robert Turbin last played for the Seattle Seahawks.
That came when he had two carries for 21 yards for the Seahawks in their 28-24 loss to New England in Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1, 2015.
The seventh-year pro has since played for three other organizations and spent more than a year without an NFL team.
Now, the 30-year-old is back in Seattle. The Seahawks re-signed him in a move that became official on Christmas Eve, along with former Seahawks teammate Marshawn Lynch, to bolster a Seattle backfield beset by injuries.
“It’s a good feeling. It’s a great feeling. It’s like a dream come true. It’s like getting drafted all over again,” Turbin said during press availability Thursday. “This is the place I wanted to be if I had my choice. God made it happen. I’m here. I’m extremely blessed and excited for the opportunity.”
Turbin, a fourth-round draft pick by Seattle in 2012, spent his first three NFL years with the Seahawks, where he won a Super Bowl ring and made the postseason every year. Since his previous time in Seattle, Turbin has played for Cleveland, Dallas and most recently Indianapolis from 2016-18.
In 2016, he rushed for 164 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns for the Colts and also had 179 receiving yards and a receiving score that year.
Turbin said he found himself in a tough spot mentally when he dislocated his shoulder last year with Indianapolis. He was released by the team Nov. 9, 2018, and has been searching for a team since.
“What really helped me was my relationship with Christ. Just trusting in God that something would happen for me and understanding that there’s only a certain amount of things that are in my control. I can’t control everything. What I can control is my preparation, my work ethic, and being disciplined every day.” — Robert Turbin
“I understood where I was at in my career,” Turbin said. “You don’t do anything but get older in this league. So, there was a lot of unknowns going into this year.”
At times, uncertainty crept into his mind before this latest opportunity presented itself.
“What really helped me was my relationship with Christ. Just trusting in God that something would happen for me and understanding that there’s only a certain amount of things that are in my control,” Turbin said. “I can’t control everything. What I can control is my preparation, my work ethic, and being disciplined every day.”
Turbin said during his time waiting for another NFL team to call, there’s been little interest — the only other workout he had was with the Raiders in March.
Week by week, the 2019 NFL regular season came closer to an end.
“We didn’t let that distract us or get us down. We had our times where I was talking to my trainer like, ‘Hey man, maybe we can just dumb it down and go a couple times a week, three times a week maybe.’ Same thing with my physical therapist every morning. We ultimately decided against that,” Turbin said.
“I just wasn’t raised like that, to quit, ever. Seventeen weeks in a season — we’re just going to do everything we can for 17 weeks, the best we can every single day. Just in case, because you never know in this league.”





An opening to play for Seattle again came after the Seahawks backfield was hit hard by injury — first, Rashaad Penny was lost to injury (torn ACL), then leading back Chris Carson (hip) and C.J. Prosise (broken arm) went down in the team’s Week 16 loss to Arizona. All three are now on injured reserve.
That left one healthy back on the roster, rookie Travis Homer, and the reason to bring back Lynch and Turbin. The pair powered the Seahawks’ rushing attack together for three years, with Lynch the bell cow and Turbin the reliable backup.
“Here we are. When we found out it was kind of funny. A big smile on my face, a big smile on his, like ‘How did this happen again? How are we in the backfield again together?’ Really ironic. It’s a great situation,” Turbin said of his reunion with Lynch.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll was mum Friday about how much of the workload Lynch and Turbin would handle when the Seahawks face San Francisco on Sunday night in the final game of the regular season. The winner takes the NFC West crown and, for both teams, there’s still the possibility to earn a first-round playoff bye or even home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Carroll was positive about what he’s seen from his two new backs in a short time, though.
“They fit right in. You couldn’t tell anything different that they weren’t. The workouts before we got them here, that showed as well. We were somewhat assured that they’d be OK. They looked really good out here,” he said.
Turbin isn’t a stranger to playing in late-season, high-stress games, thanks to his previous time with the Seahawks. He played in eight playoff games with Seattle.
“Well, fortunately for us, we’ve been in this spot before. We’ve been in these kind of games before. The hardest thing is just picking up on our assignments and what we’re supposed to do,” Turbin said. “Luckily with that, both Marshawn and I have some familiarity with the offense. So, we’re able to get some things fairly quickly.”