The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, coming off a 14-3 regular season, will try to defend their title in 2026. Mike Macdonald returns for his third year as head coach. Brian Fleury takes over as offensive coordinator. Sam Darnold returns at quarterback. The Seahawks lost top running back Kenneth Walker to the Chiefs, while Zach Charbonnet remains on the PUP list as he works his way back from last season’s knee injury. The Seahawks opened the season by putting the ball in the hands of Notre Dame rookie Jadarian Price. Price suffered a chest injury in Week 2, aggravated it in practice before Week 4, and was placed on injured reserve. Seattle returns several top receiving weapons from last year, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and tight end AJ Barner, and Rashid Shaheed is also back. The offensive line returns five starters: Charles Cross, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, Anthony Bradford, and Abraham Lucas. Bradford was placed on injured reserve after Week 2.
Aden Durde returns for his third season as defensive coordinator, and his unit brings back ten of its top eleven tacklers from last year. Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, DeMarcus Lawrence, Drake Thomas, Ernest Jones IV, Tyrice Knight, and Uchenna Nwosu return in the front seven. Dante Fowler, formerly with the Cowboys, will look to make an impact, and the secondary returns Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, Julian Love, Ty Okada, and Nick Emmanwori. Okada has been dealing with a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the lineup early in the season.
Jay Harbaugh is back for his third season as special teams coach. Jason Myers returns after making 41 field goals last year, and Michael Dickson returns as punter. Rashid Shaheed will handle punt returns, while Tory Horton is slated to handle kickoffs. The Seattle defense is the heart and soul of this team and will take them as far as they go. The running game remains a key question with Charbonnet working his way back and Price now on injured reserve. The Seahawks have opened their title defense at 3-1. The NFC West is loaded with talent, and every week will be meaningful.