RENTON - Elijah Arroyo finally got the reset he’d been chasing.
For a player whose college career at Miami was interrupted by injuries and whose rookie year in Seattle was hit by another knee setback, the chance to step away this summer mattered. It gave the Seahawks tight end something he had been wanting to do for a long time: return to Cancun and host a football camp for local kids.
Arroyo’s connection to the city runs deep. He is of Mexican descent and lived in Cancun for six years, from ages 7-13, while his father sold timeshares there. That was where he first got into organized football with the Trojans of Cancun, and it was also where a childhood memory stuck with him after watching the Steelers come through town when he was about 10.
“That was just the best thing in the world for me,” Arroyo said of the old Steelers camp before practice on Tuesday. “As I got older, I’m like, ‘I want to be able to go back and inspire the kids if I have the chance.’”
This summer, he finally had the opening to do it. With Seattle’s shorter spring minicamps behind him and the team now in its late-summer camp stretch, Arroyo made the trip in June and hosted the camp.
“This is the first summer I really had some time off to go out and (host a camp),” Arroyo said. “It was a great turnout.”
That break came after a rookie season that left him wanting more. Arroyo finished with 179 yards and a touchdown across 13 games, and he admitted in a July 28 interview with Seattle Sports 710 that he “left food on the table.”
“There’s always little details when I’m watching film, like ‘oh I should’ve done this, or I could’ve done that, so really just trying to take advantage every time I’m on the field,” Arroyo said.
The bigger picture, though, is that his path to the NFL has been defined by patience. At Miami, he managed just 163 yards over three injury-filled seasons before breaking out with 590 yards as a senior in 2024, averaging nearly 17 yards per catch. His sophomore-year torn left ACL wiped out time and forced him into rehab, but he says that process changed him.
“I feel like it molded me,” Arroyo said of coming back from the ACL injury. “I don’t let anything affect my confidence or just how I view myself. I understand the potential that I have with this team.”
That confidence matters now more than ever. In Seattle, Arroyo is working behind second-year tight end AJ Barner, who made the position his last season with 519 yards and six touchdowns. Arroyo also missed more time after another knee injury in Week 14, though he did get back on the field for 21 snaps in February’s Super Bowl 60 win over New England.
Still, the Seahawks saw enough upside to make him the 50th overall pick in 2025, and his athletic profile remains part of the appeal. Arroyo’s speed was estimated in the 4.50s for the 40-yard dash after he wasn’t able to run at the combine, and at 6-foot-5 and 254 pounds, he brings a frame that fits the modern tight end mold.
There’s also a different layer to his game. Arroyo said he played some receiver growing up before becoming a tight end in college, and Seattle has been testing that background by lining him up out wide. That versatility showed up again on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” episode Tuesday night, when Arroyo beat safety Rodney Thomas II on a corner-post double move from an outside spot.
He also flashed in red-zone work Tuesday afternoon in Renton, catching two passes, including a touchdown on a fade route to the back right corner of the end zone.
Mentally, Arroyo knows the formula.
“Relaxed… trash talking, a little bit on edge, a little angry, but not over the edge,” Arroyo said of his ideal demeanor with a smile.
Physically, he believes the ACL rehab helped him too. Arroyo said he had to relearn how to run, and the process pushed him to focus on his form.
“I kind of played a little bit of receiver growing up, and kind of got molded into a tight end going into college,” Arroyo said. “I know I had to put the weight on and everything. Actually, when I tore my ACL in college… I had to learn how to run again…
“That’s when I had time to focus on my running form, and I came back faster than what I was before.”
He showed that speed on his only touchdown last season, a 26-yard go-route score against Washington Commanders safety Tyler Owens in Week 9. But last year also showed how important efficiency will be for him going forward. Arroyo played 40% of the snaps in the games he was active, well behind Barner’s near-80% rate in Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning season.
The tight end room is crowded enough to make every rep matter. Veteran Eric Saubert played 40% of the snaps in 2025, second-year man Nick Kallerup logged 23%, and newcomer Nick Vannett is also in the mix. Seattle’s first preseason game against Dallas is Saturday.
There is still a path for Arroyo to carve out a bigger role, especially with new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury arriving from a San Francisco 49ers offense that maximized All-Pro tight end George Kittle. For now, though, Arroyo says his focus is simpler than the outside noise.
“I’m not really focused on the individual expectations,” Arroyo said. “I’m just trying to just be as prepared as I can be every day, and the results will take care of themselves.”
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