Seahawks Opening Night Going Down on Wednesday, Not Thursday
Fresh off hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, the Seahawks are about to break tradition. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Seattle's 2026 regular season opener is moving to Wednesday, Sept. 9, on NBC instead of the usual Thursday night slot. Why? Because the Rams and 49ers are taking the first ever regular season game down under to Melbourne, Australia, which pushes the defending champs' opener back a day.
Yeah, you read that right. The defending Super Bowl champions always open at home on Thursday. That's been the custom. But with the Rams and 49ers heading to Australia for that historic matchup, the Seahawks have to shuffle things around. The thing is, we've got some scheduling chaos to work through here. The Sounders have a home game that night against Kansas City at 7:30 p.m., and the Mariners are hosting the Texas Rangers at 6:40 p.m. But the league and the teams think they can make it work. The Mariners also have another game against Texas on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 1:10 p.m., so there's room to move pieces around if needed.
Who Will the Hawks Face?
Here's the million dollar question: who comes to Lumen Field for that Wednesday night showdown? Obviously, rematches against the Rams and 49ers are off the table. Those are the two teams Sam Darnold and crew had to go through in the NFC playoffs just to reach the Super Bowl. That leaves seven options from the home schedule: Arizona, Dallas, New York Giants, Kansas City, Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago, and New England, the team Seattle crushed 29-13 on Feb. 8 to win it all. The full schedule drops in mid-May, though some games could be announced before then.
Depth Signings and Front Office Moves
In other business, backup linebacker Chazz Surratt is back. He signed with the Hawks back in late August after being released by the 49ers and logged 11 regular season games before going on injured reserve in November with an ankle issue. Surratt was primarily on special teams with 181 snaps but also saw 11 snaps on defense. He was the last unrestricted free agent the team had to get locked down.
The Seahawks also made several signings official: cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, defensive tackle Brandon Pili, and safety Rodney Thomas II. Igbinoghene was the 30th overall pick by Miami in 2020 and spent the last two seasons with Washington before joining the Hawks. Running back George Holani signed his exclusive free agent tender as well. The team addressed depth at corner by also bringing in Shemar Jean-Charles off their practice squad.
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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.