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If you have not heard, the Seattle Seahawks will be taking the Super Bowl stage in just over a week to pursue the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy! The team has revealed the men that get the honor of being a Super Bowl captain against the New England Patriots.
The game captains will be Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR) on offense, Devon Witherspoon (CB) for the defense and Brady Russell (FB) for special teams. The ‘Hawks are running it back, as all three served in this role for the Divisional Round beatdown of the San Francisco 49ers. A little bit of superstition, since the game will be played in SF’s stadium?
Jaxon Smith-Njigba exploded into the national conscious this year, threatening single season records and leading the league in receiving yards (1,793). What more needs to be said of the young offensive dynamo? Has JSN become the most dangerous man on the field? He has been a captain four times previously and will look to truly shine for the NFC champions against the Patriots.
Devon Witherspoon is the first Seahawk since Russell Wilson to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons. No matter how you feel about PFF’s grading system, Lil’ Spoon was ranked as the top cornerback in the NFL (89.9 grade). Witherspoon will be a game captain for the 3rd instance in the 2025-26 season for the Hawks.
Brady Russell has been a stalwart on special teams all year while moonlighting on offense at both fullback as well as some tight end alignments. He has eight total tackles in the third phase and a fumble recovery. This will be Russell’s fifth time serving as captain this season and was also in that role against the Niners in Seattle’s playoff debut as the top seed.
On the very first play of the game, Brady Russell blocked two guys on kick return to pave the way for an electric Rashid Shaheed return for a touchdown. He added another tackle later in kick coverage and will be asked to be a factor again in the championship game.
These selections all seem very appropriate, with JSN (20th overall, as the first wideout off the board that year) and Spoon (5th overall, the highest Pete Carroll has ever drafted a player, due to having Denver’s pick) being the pair of transformative picks to come from the 2023 NFL draft. That was the year after franchise QB, Russell Wilson was traded away to the Broncos.
The Seahawks will battle the Patriots for the NFL title at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium at 3:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, February 8th.
