Seahawks Super Bowl Tuesday: Finally, football; No ICE Sunday; defending JSN
Now, finally, football.
Super Bowl 60 for the Seahawks so far has been all fun, no game. Coach Mike Macdonald has encouraged if not demanded his players “lean into,” as Pro Bowl quarterback Sam Darnold said, these first days of Super Bowl week.
They are more carnival than football.
The league obligates the players to talk to the media at the Super Bowl far more than they usually do, for far longer at one sitting than they are required to during the season. Instead of maybe 5 minutes at their locker on their ways out to practice, the players have sat answering questions in front of cameras from the United States, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Australia, Germany and more nations around the world for 60 minutes Monday night plus 35 or so more minutes Tuesday. That’s been inside the San Jose Convention Center.
Pro Bowl defensive lineman Leonard Williams is at his first Super Bowl of his 11 years in the NFL. He loves it so far — to a point.
“That was a LONG time!” Williams said Monday night. He was sighing and almost gasping following his hour of answering questions of all shades of validity at Super Bowl Opening Night.
“I’m not used to talking for that long!”
Now the NFC champions are back to their normal practice cadence.
They were on the field for a light workout Monday. Tuesday was a day off from the field, as it is during the regular season between Sunday-to-Sunday games.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday also will be like it is during the regular season: Practices each day, with a practice participation/injury report after each one. Friday the team will issue an official injury report for the game, as it does in the season.
The Seahawks are practicing each day at San Jose State University. Those workouts are closed to the media, except for one pool reporter and one pool photographer the league assigns. Those pool journalists will produce a daily practice report.
So now it’s on to what Macdonald is best at: Coaching football, preparing his team on the field and in meetings from now until kickoff to beat the New England Patriots. Seattle is seeking its second Super Bowl title in its 50-year history Sunday evening (3:30 p.m., NBC television, KING-5 locally).
“You try to be steadfast in your process,” Macdonald said Tuesday, “and at some point, things are going to change. Things are going to be different.
“What doesn’t change is our principles and the things that we’re about, on a moment-by-moment basis.”
Macdonald said his message to his team at the Super Bowl is: “We’re going to be loose and focused. That’s how we roll.”
“So the loose part is, we’re going to enjoy it. We’re going to enjoy these moments. We’re going to love being with our friends and family and enjoying our teammates. (But) we’re all going to be focused. We have an accountability to our process and the things that we need to do to go play our best.
“That’s going to be our process,” Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon and his teammates absolutely trust that process. Seattle’s top-ranked defense allowed the fewest points in the league this season.
“We’ll have a great plan laid out. Then we will go out there and practice it over and over and over again, until you understand what you are going to do,” Witherspoon said.
No ICE
Up the 101 freeway in San Francisco, site of the league’s events and Super Bowl celebrations away from teams, the NFL held a security briefing for the Super Bowl.
The news from that: The league’s chief security officer said federal, California and San Francisco law enforcement and security agencies have a comprehensive plan in place for the game — and that no agents from the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency will be present at the Super Bowl.
“There are no known, no planned ICE or immigration enforcement operations that are scheduled around the Super Bowl, or any of the Super Bowl-related events,” NFL chief security officer Cathy Lanier said Tuesday.
Back down in San Jose, someone who obviously doesn’t know Macdonald asked the Seahawks coach about ICE not being at the Super Bowl.
Macdonald politely said he’s just trying to beat the Patriots. You know, the biggest game of his 38 years on Earth and all.
“I have no comment on that,” he said of no ICE.
Defending JSN
One football question Macdonald did get Tuesday: If you had to, how would you as a defensive guru do what the Patriots have to do Sunday: Defend Jaxon Smith-Njigba?
The NFL’s leader with 1,793 yards became an All-Pro for the first time this Seahawks season.
“Can you out three guys on him?” Macdonald said.
“The thing with Jax, OK, you can allocate two guys to him — but he’s got vertical speed, too. So, is it in-and-out double(-team coverage)? Is it high-low double? Now I do that, now I am light (on defenders) in the box (to defend the run).”
Macdonald credited his offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, poised to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ new head coach Monday, for moving Smith-Njigba around formations to make him tougher for foes to defend.
“That’s a tribute to Jax, too, for learning all those positions,” Macdonald said.
“There’s answers to how teams have played us. And sometimes teams do a great job throughout the whole game taking him away, and other guys have to make plays.
“But man, he’s been incredibly consistent and a great player for us the whole year.”
The Cardinals in Week 5, the Vikings in Week 13 and the Panthers in Week 17 were the only Seahawks opponents to hold Smith-Njigba under 80 yards receiving and without a touchdown.
The Seahawks ran for 155, 125 and 163 yards in those games. Seattle won them all.
Chazz Surratt’s Super chance
After not playing for the last month and a half, Chazz Surratt apparently is going to play in the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks activated Surratt, their special-teams mainstay, from injured reserve Tuesday. He goes on the 53-man roster for the championship game.
The 49ers released him Aug. 26 after signing him in May. Seattle signed him two days alter. He didn’t play a game for San Francisco. He played 11 games for the Seahawks this season, until he injured his ankle during the team’s win at Tennessee Nov. 23.
The Seahawks put rookie third-string offensive tackle Amari Kight on injured reserve with a knee issue to make roster room for Surratt.
This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Seahawks Super Bowl Tuesday: Finally, football; No ICE Sunday; defending JSN."
