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Schedule Day
The Rematch Is Real: Patriots at Lumen Field on Opening Night
The NFL chose violence. Per NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Seahawks will open their title defense against the New England Patriots on Wednesday, September 9, at 5:20 p.m. PT on NBC. Seven months after blowing out New England 29-13 in Super Bowl LX, the Patriots get to stand on the Lumen Field turf and watch the championship banner rise. Then they get to play the team that earned it.
It’s the first Super Bowl rematch in the season opener since Denver hosted Carolina in 2016. The Broncos won that one 21-20. Before that, Seattle itself hosted the Broncos in Week 3 of the 2014 season for a Super Bowl XLVIII rematch and won in overtime. The league has made this specific decision exactly twice in the last decade, and both times the champion won.
16-5
Defending Super Bowl champions’ record in season openers since 2004, per ESPN Research.
FanDuel already has the Seahawks as 4.5-point favorites. The Vrabel circus in New England will consume every national broadcast from now until kickoff, which means Seattle’s banner ceremony will share oxygen with someone else’s drama. But once the ball is kicked, the noise will be real. This is 12s weather.
The full 272-game schedule drops tonight at 5 p.m. PT on NFL Network, ESPN2, and NFL+. A Christmas Day Seahawks-Rams matchup has also leaked, per KJR’s Dave Mahler. Tickets go on sale immediately after the full schedule drops. Start budgeting.
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The Patriots get to watch the banner go up. Then they get to play the team that earned it. The NFL is not known for mercy, but this is inspired cruelty.
SOURCES →
Roster
Bud Clark Signed. Only Price Remains.
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$7.88M
Bud Clark’s four-year rookie deal, with a $2.20M signing bonus.
Clark already sounds like a Witherspoon protégé. “I feel like me and him clicked the most out of everybody,” Clark told Seahawks.com. Schneider saw it coming too, telling reporters after the draft that putting Bud and Spoon in the same room was going to be fun. Macdonald said Clark won’t be limited to safety. He can play nickel, he can probably play corner. The versatility is the whole point.
Price’s deal is the last piece of business. First-round contracts involve more negotiation around signing bonus structures, but every indication is that it’ll get done before OTAs start May 26. Seven down, one to go.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
KJR’s Dave Mahler reports the Seahawks will host the Rams on Christmas Day, the franchise’s first-ever December 25 game. Three Christmas slots are available this year, two on Netflix and one on FOX. An NFC Championship rematch as a stocking stuffer. Field Gulls Field Gulls
CBS Sports’ schedule leak tracker has Seahawks at Raiders in Week 10 on November 15 at 1:05 p.m. PT. The same day the Patriots play the Lions in Munich. Seattle gets a normal Sunday. The champions stay domestic. CBS Sports CBS Sports
Former Seahawks practice squad QB Jaren Hall announced his retirement at 28. Hall spent part of 2024 on Seattle’s practice squad, never played a regular-season snap for the team, and bounced through the UFL before calling it. Short career, long life ahead. Heavy Heavy
Yahoo Sports lists Jeremiyah Love vs. Jadarian Price as one of the buzziest rookie matchups on the 2026 schedule. The two former Notre Dame teammates will face each other twice. One went third overall. The other went 32nd. Both have something to prove. Yahoo Sports Yahoo Sports
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Rams open in Melbourne, host the inaugural Thanksgiving Eve game against the Packers on Netflix, and still haven’t signed Stafford to that extension everyone keeps calling “close.” An anonymous GM told ESPN’s Mike Sando that Stafford has “already had doubts about playing.” Meanwhile, Ty Simpson had secret pre-draft meetings with McVay and is competing with Stetson Bennett for the backup job. The Rams spent the 13th overall pick on a quarterback who isn’t allowed to start even if Stafford gets hurt. That’s not a succession plan. That’s a trust fall.
NINERS
The 49ers are playing football on three continents in 2026: Melbourne in Week 1, Mexico City in Week 11, and whatever is left of Santa Clara in between. Brandon Aiyuk is still technically on the roster at $27 million. ESPN’s Dan Graziano says teams are just waiting for San Francisco to release him because nobody wants to trade for that contract. John Lynch said “We’re available. Give us a call” at the draft, which is the GM equivalent of putting a couch on Craigslist for free and getting no takers.
CARDINALS
Arizona has the hardest schedule in the NFL per Sharp Football Analysis and the lowest projected win total in the division at 4.5. The good news? They travel fewer miles than anyone else in the NFC West, ranking 23rd in the league. The 49ers, Rams, and Seahawks are all in the top ten. Arizona’s biggest competitive advantage in 2026 is that nobody has to fly very far to lose to them at home.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Jordan Babineaux signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent out of Division II Southern Arkansas in 2004 and earned the nickname ‘Big Play Babs’ for his clutch moments against Dallas. How many interceptions did Babineaux record during his seven years in Seattle?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Ten interceptions in 99 games as a Seahawk. The most famous of his big plays wasn’t even a pick. It was the diving ankle tackle on Tony Romo after the botched field goal snap in the 2006 Wild Card game that sent Seattle to the divisional round.
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The schedule drops at 5. The banner goes up September 9. The rest is just calendar management. Go Hawks. — The Rooster