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You can ‘Easley’ make the Kam-parison between these two Virginia NFL stars

Posted at 4:41 PM, Jul 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-12 19:08:50-04

Kam Chancellor Kenny Easley

NORFOLK, Va. – The area in which they grew up originally linked them. Now, Kenny Easley and Kam Chancellor are tied together by much more than just their coastal Virginia upbringing.

Nicknamed “The Enforcer”, Chesapeake native Kenny Easley played safety for the Seattle Seahawks for seven seasons before a kidney ailment ended his career.

Nicknamed “The Enforcer”, Norfolk native Kam Chancellor played safety for the Seattle Seahawks for eight seasons before a neck injury ended his career.

Kenny Easley poses with his bust during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

31 years after playing his final game, Easley, enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017, says he reached out to Chancellor shortly after the 30 year-old announced he was stepping away from football earlier this month.

“I made it clear to him: when he needs me, I’m here,” Easley said in an in-studio interview with News 3 Wednesday.

“I talked to him via email first – just wrote him some things and told him to lean on his faith,” Easley explained. “I know this is a trying time. I’ve been through it. I know what it’s like. People that you thought were your friends are going to disappear because you’re no longer in the fraternity. Once you get outside the fraternity, you’re just shut-off from that reality. You have to create a new reality and find new friends. Your old reality is gone.”

Kam Chancellor of the Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

In the social media post announcing his plans to leave football, Chancellor tweeted that God gave him a sign he cannot ignore. While contractual obligations (and a desire to collect his $6.8 million salary) prevent Kam from using the word “retire”, the former Maury High School and Virginia Tech standout is done.

Done, but not out.

Chancellor says football is all he’s ever known – other than serving the Lord. Easley, also a man of strong faith, sees Kam’s abrupt ending as a blessing.

Kenny Easley during his Ring of Excellence ceremony

“He can’t see it because his mind is full of a lot of other things about it his career,” Easley explained. “Why did this happen to me? Why didn’t I play longer? All irrelevant stuff. But he’s blessed. God is going to show him things and riches he never would’ve imagined in the national football league as a player.”

During his seven-year career in Seattle, Easley made 87 starts. During his eight-year career in Seattle, Chancellor made 93 starts.