Free agent running back Najee Harris visits Seahawks | Notebook
Veteran running back Najee Harris paid an official visit to the Seahawks on Wednesday, according to NFL transactions.
Harris, a five-year veteran, played just three games for the Los Angeles Chargers last season after suffering a torn Achilles in the third game against Denver.
Harris signed a one-year deal worth up to $9.5 million with the Chargers after spending four years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who took him as the 24th overall pick in the 2021 draft after a standout career at Alabama.
Harris, who turned 28 this month, rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons with the Steelers — including making the Pro Bowl following his rookie season when he rushed for 1,200 yards, which remains a career high — before signing with the Chargers last offseason.
He suffered what was termed a “superficial” eye injury in a mishap on the Fourth of July last summer but recovered to play in the first three games with the Chargers before suffering the Achilles injury. Harris rushed for 61 yards on 15 carries with a long of seven before he was injured.
Harris’ agent Doug Hendrickson — also the agent for a number of prominent Seahawks through the years such as Marshawn Lynch and Michael Bennett — posted a video clip of Harris running at full speed on a treadmill on Monday on the social media platform X, noting it’s been six months since surgery.
The visit with the Seahawks was thought to be exploratory and in part to see where Harris is in his recovery, and it is unclear if a signing is imminent. The NFL Network reported that Harris is also set to visit the Raiders following his trip to Seattle.
However, the visit indicates that the Seahawks are assessing available options as they look to add to a running back position that will undergo a makeover in 2026.
Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs, and No. 2 back Zach Charbonnet is not expected to be ready for the start of the 2026 season after he suffered a torn ACL in the playoffs. He had surgery last month.
The Seahawks signed free agent Emanuel Wilson, a backup with the Green Bay Packers the past three seasons, to add to a group of returnees that includes George Holani — who took over as the backup to Walker after Charbonnet was sidelined — Kenny McIntosh, Cam Akers and Velus Jones Jr.
Harris was born in Martinez, Calif., but lived briefly in Seattle as a child, telling Steelers.com in 2021 it was in Seattle where he began playing football.
“Funny story about me playing football,” Harris said in a story published in 2021. “I am from California. There were all these bad neighborhoods where we were from, so we moved to Seattle. I got in some trouble. I wasn’t playing football. They said I had too much energy, so I need to play sports. They put me in football.”
Harris helped lead Alabama to two national titles during his time there from 2017-20 and left as the school’s all-time rushing leader with 3,843 yards.
Hawks to open Sept. 9
The NFL announced Wednesday that the Seahawks, the league’s defending Super Bowl champions, will open the season at home on Wednesday, Sept. 9, in the regular-season opener for the league.
The league did not name an opponent but did announce the date and time — a 5:20 p.m. kickoff — and TV designation (NBC). The game is expected to be preceded by the raising of the Super Bowl banner commemorating Seattle’s 29-13 win over New England last month, the second title in the Seahawks’ 50-year history.
The opponent will be announced with the rest of the NFL schedule this spring.
The date of the Seahawks’ game had been in question because the Rams and 49ers will play on Friday morning, Sept. 11, in Melbourne, Australia — a game that will air in the U.S. on Thursday night, Sept. 10.
The defending Super Bowl champion has typically hosted a game on Thursday to open the NFL season but is moving Seattle’s game up a day to accommodate the Australia game.
According to NFL research, it will be just the fifth NFL game played on a Wednesday since 1950 — all occurring since 2012.
The most recent were two Christmas Day games in 2024 and a game moved to a Wednesday in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The season opener in 2012 between the Cowboys and the defending champion New York Giants was also moved to a Wednesday due to the Democratic National Convention and a speech by Barack Obama scheduled for that Thursday night.
There are seven possible opponents for Seattle’s opener with the 49ers and Rams obviously ruled out since they are playing the following day in Australia.
The other home opponents for Seattle in 2026 are Arizona, Dallas, the New York Giants, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago and New England.
Most speculation has centered on New England, as a rematch of the Super Bowl; Dallas, due to its historic name value and TV audience draw; and Chicago, as a team expected to again contend for a playoff berth in 2026 after a breakout season in 2025 under first-year coach Ben Johnson.
Seattle also hosted the NFL regular-season opener in 2014 as the defending Super Bowl champs, beating the Green Bay Packers, 36-16.
The Wednesday game will also mean the Seahawks will become just the ninth NFL team to have played a game on every day of the week, according to Seahawks.com. The Seahawks played a game on a Friday night in 1985 against Denver at the Kingdome during a period when the NFL briefly experimented with playing some games on Friday and also played a game against the Rams in Los Angeles on Tuesday in 2021 due to COVID-19 complications.
The day shapes up as a busy one in Seattle as the Mariners are scheduled for a 6:40 p.m. game against the Texas Rangers as part of a three-game series that runs from Sept. 8-10. But it’s assumed that accommodations will be made to move the time of that game so as not to conflict.
The Sounders have also been scheduled for a game at Lumen Field that night against Kansas City but that game will also apparently be moved.
Seahawks re-sign Surratt
The Seahawks on Wednesday announced they had re-signed linebacker and special teams standout Chazz Surratt. It had earlier been reported that he had agreed to return on a one-year deal.
Surratt’s signing means all of the players who had been reported as agreeing to contracts with Seattle have now officially signed.
Surratt signed with the Seahawks on Aug. 28, 2025, two days after he had been released by the 49ers, and played in 11 games and made 11 tackles on special teams, second-most of any Seahawk.
He suffered an ankle injury in late November, was placed on Injured Reserve and did not see action in the postseason.
Surratt entered the league as a third-round pick of the Vikings in 2021 out of North Carolina and started five games for the Jets in 2024.
He’ll be expected to have a similar role in 2026, serving as depth at the inside-linebacker spots — he was officially listed as a third-team middle linebacker on the team’s depth chart last season — and playing on special teams.
“We have a great team, great culture here,” Surratt told Seahawks.com. “So excited to be back with the guys and get back to work … The brotherhood, just going to play for each other.”