The Seahawks defense of their Super Bowl title will begin September 9th when they host the New England Patriots to open the 2026 season. Preparations for the season kickoff will start Saturday, July 24th, when the Seahawks open their 51st training camp in franchise history and 18th at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
FRONT OFFICE OFF-FIELD MOVES
The biggest off-season move is the pending sale of the franchise from the Estate of Paul G. Allen, chaired by Jody Allen, to a group led by billionaire tech investor Vinod Khosla for $9.612 Billion. The agreement lists Vinod’s wife, Neru Khosla, as the main contact, and with their son, Nea, having a say in the football operations. All that remains for the deal to go through is a yes vote from 24 of the 32 owners. The league has called for a special league meeting in Atlanta on August 24th. Brian Fleury was hired as the team’s Offensive Coordinator to replace Klint Kubiak, who was named the Las Vegas Raiders head coach.
OFF-FIELD PLAYERS
As for the players, the Seahawks lost Super Bowl MVP Ken Walker to the Chiefs, Coby Bryant signed with the Bears, Riq Woolen signed with the Eagles, Boye Mafe with the Bengals, and Dareke Young with the Raiders. To fill the void left by the departures, Mike Macdonald will be using a three-pronged approach. The maturity of existing players, the draft, and free agency will bolster competition.
FREE AGENT ADDITIONS
General Manager John Schneider and Macdonald made several offseason additions. Safeties D’Anthony Bell and Rodney Thomas II were signed to bring competition and depth at the safety position. The same can be said for running back Emanuel Wilson and cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. Former Cowboy outside linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. agreed to contract terms with the Seahawks and joined his former teammate De Marcus Lawrence and Defensive Coordinator Aden Durde, who was the Cowboys’ defensive line coach before joining the Seahawks.
DRAFT FOR NEED
The Seahawks drafted for need in the 2026 draft, and most experts agree they met their needs on paper. Training camp will determine how well the Seahawks drafted.
Draft picks:
- Round 1 (No. 32): RB Jadarian Price, Notre Dame
- Round 2 (No. 64): S Bud Clark, TCU
- Round 3 (No. 99): CB Julian Neal, Arkansas
- Round 5 (No. 148): OG Beau Stephens, Iowa
- Round 6 (No. 199): WR Emmanuel Henderson Jr., Kansas
- Round 7 (No. 236): CB Andre Fuller, Toledo
- Round 7 (No. 242): DT Deven Eastern, Minnesota
- Round 7 (No. 255): CB Michael Dansby, Arizona
SO WHAT ARE THE STORY LINES
WHO GETS THE MOST CARRIES ON OPENING DAY ?
Price, Holani, and Wilson should be involved in a long, drawn-out battle for carriers. And yes, we, the media, will scrutinize every carry, catch, and drop pass all the way to opening night. The telling story of the Seahawks’ running battle will be the stat line after the Patriots game. Two of the trio will get the majority of carries. MacDonald likes to use two backs, and one has to figure Fleury will step in line with that philosophy. How the running backs are used will also say a lot about Fleury as a play caller. One game does not a season make, but stoop observation will unveil some early trends.
CAN RASHID SHAHEED CARRY THE LOAD?
Rashid Shaheed will become a full-time offensive player after the team signed him to a three-year, $5 million contract. Shaheed will have plenty of help from the league’s best receiver in Jaxson Smith-Njigba. Like Shaheed Smith- Njigba got paid, as they say. The team made him the highest-paid receiver in the NFL after he agreed to a four-year, $168.6 million contract extension with an annual salary of $42.15 million. Coper Kupp had his best offseason since he joined the Seahawks and should help with the short passing routes, which in turn would open up intermediate and deep routes for Shaheed.
WHO WILL STEP UP AT SAFETY
There will be a heated competition for safety between Ty Okada, D’Anthony Bell, and Bud Clark. Adding intrigue is the fact that Nick Emmanwori still starts Training Camp on the PUP. Emmanwori had an off-season arthroscopic ankle surgery. Julian Love will anchor the other safety spot as long as he stays healthy.
HOW WILL THE ATTENTION AFFECT THE SEAHAWKS
The popular HBO and NFL Films series Hard Knocks will feature the Seattle Seahawks this season. A surprise turn of events, given how much Macdonald likes his privacy and loathes distractions. Like it or not, the first episode will premiere on August 4th. How will the Seahawks handle all of the extra attention? Will it be a distraction or a motivator to continue business as usual and focus on a second consecutive title?
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