Brady Russell

Brady Russell (born August 31, 1998) is an American football tight end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Colorado and was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2023.

Early years
Russell was born on August 31, 1998, at Camp Pendleton in California. Several of his family members were also involved in athletics: his father, Randy, and uncle, Marc Booth, both played football for the Arkansas Razorbacks; his uncle, Matt, played for the Colorado Buffaloes and is an executive with the Philadelphia Eagles; his brother, Cody, played for the Northern Colorado Bears and another brother, Tyler, ran track at Navy.

Russell attended Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, Colorado, initially being a track athlete before switching to football and playing defensive end as well as some tight end. He was the team's most valuable player as both a junior and senior, twice earning first-team All-Front Range League honors on defense, as well as one second-team selection on offense. He was a two-star recruit and opted to walk-on at Football Bowl Subdivision Colorado rather than accept a scholarship offer from Football Championship Subdivision Northern Colorado.

College career
As a true freshman at Colorado in 2017, Russell spent time learning how to play outside linebacker and tight end, quickly being made the latter while spending the season on the scout team. He was named Colorado's 2017 Offensive Scout Player of the Year. He impressed in training camp in 2018 and was given a scholarship prior to the regular season, despite it taking most walk-ons at minimum three years to earn it, if ever. Russell was placed second on the depth chart to begin the 2018 season. He totaled five receptions for 41 yards on the year.

In 2019, Russell made 23 catches for 221 yards with two touchdowns, exceeding the amount of catches made by Colorado tight ends in the prior three years (18). The following year, he was named team captain, but suffered an injury in the second game that sidelined him for the season. He had his best season in 2021, recording a team-leading 25 receptions for 307 yards while being a nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the best player who started his career as a walk-on. Russell returned for a final year in 2022 and posted 20 catches for 153 yards with no scores. He finished his stint at the school with 78 receptions for 799 yards with three touchdowns.

Philadelphia Eagles
After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, Russell was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent. He was waived on August 29, 2023 and re-signed to the practice squad.

Seattle Seahawks
Russell was signed off the Eagles' practice squad to the 53-man roster of the Seattle Seahawks on September 20, 2023.