Seahawks re-sign Super Bowl LX captain Brady Russell
The Seahawks on Thursday re-signed fullback and Super Bowl special teams captain Brady Russell on a two-year contract, the team announced.
They also agreed to terms with defensive tackle Brandon Pili as the Seahawks continued on their task of retaining as many players from their 2025 as possible as they try to defend their Super Bowl title in 2026.
Russell was a restricted free agent who was not tendered by the team and became an unrestricted free agent Wednesday.
But it was thought all along that the Seahawks wanted to keep Russell, who has spent the last three years with the team playing fullback and tight end and emerging as the leader of a special teams unit that last year was generally considered among the best in the NFL.
“It means the world,” Russell was quoted as saying by Seahawks.com after signing. “I was definitely hoping to stay here, we’ve built something really special, and it’s really cool to be a part of the initial team when Mike came in and be a part of what we’ve built.”
Russell played fullback and tight end last season, ending the season primarily as a fullback, moving to that spot after a midseason injury to Robbie Ouzts.
He also led the team with 15 tackles on special teams in 2025 and was the game captain for the special teams unit for the Super Bowl.
While the Seahawks do not have official seasonlong captains, he was regarded as essentially the permanent captain for that unit, called as such by several players.
“We have a lot of leaders in the room, but I think every time Brady speaks, people listen,” Love said. “He’s one of those guys.”
Russell, who joined the Seahawks early in the 2023 season after being signed off the practice squad of the Eagles, made $1.030 million last season. A tender would have meant a non-guaranteed salary of at least $3.52 million in 2026.
Russell, who was said to have interest from other teams, will get some security in the form of a two-year deal.
Pili agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $2 million, according to the NFL Network.
Like Russell, Pili was also a restricted free agent who became a UFA when he was not tendered.
Pili played in 13 games last season as a rotational player on the interior defensive line, making 12 tackles in 152 snaps.
Pili also played 16 snaps in the divisional playoff win over the 49ers and five in the NFC title game win over the Rams — making three tackles against San Francisco. But he was inactive for the Super Bowl win over the Patriots.
Pili, a four-year vet out of USC, first joined the Seahawks in November of 2024.
The deals with Russell and Pili means there are just three Seahawks free agents who have yet to either re-sign or agree to deals with another team — receivers Cody White and Dareke Young and linebacker Chazz Surratt.