Published September 8, 2026 03:58 AM

When the Seahawks open the season on Wednesday night against the Patriots, quarterback Sam Darnold will be one of their captains. But that won’t be the case every week.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald believes in picking new captains for each game, rather than the season-long captains with a ‘C’ on their jersey that most teams use. That was Macdonald’s approach during his first two seasons as the Seahawks’ head coach, and it will continue to be his approach this year.

In addition to Darnold, the Seahawks’ captains against the Patriots will be linebacker Ernest Jones IV, fullback Brady Russell and defensive tackle Leonard Williams.

Macdonald said early in the 2024 season, his first as a head coach, that he believes in making team captain a weekly recognition rather than a season-long responsibility.

“It’s a combination of guys who are doing a great job, guys who are trying to build up and give an opportunity to have a voice with the rest of the team, guys you want to recognize that deserve an opportunity to do those things,” Macdonald said. “So, that’s really the thought behind it. It’s pretty much that simple. The guys know who the leaders are. You don’t need the title to be the leader of the team. But it’s important to build everybody else up. . . . There’s nothing formal about it. It’s just more of a recognition type thing. Just, ‘Hey, shout out to these guys that are operating the right way, playing the right way, preparing the right way.’”

As the starting quarterback, Darnold was an obvious choice for Week 1. He’ll be a team leader all year, and doesn’t need the captain’s ‘C’ to show it.

Seahawks pick different captains for each game, including Sam Darnold for Week 1

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