With Lombardi Trophy secured, the Seattle Seahawks savor brotherhood, journey to NFL mountaintop
Seattle Seahawks clean out lockers after Super Bowl win
Now that the dust has settled on the Seahawks Super Bowl championship, the team returned to their training facility Tuesday to wrap up their historic season. FOX 13 Seattle caught up with the players as they cleaned out their lockers.
RENTON, Wash. - Locker room clean-out day comes for everyone in the NFL each season. Only one of them is a joyous occasion.
The Seattle Seahawks are the one team left standing, capturing their second Super Bowl victory in franchise history in dominant fashion over the New England Patriots on Sunday night in Santa Clara, California – a 29-13 romp that felt even more convincing than the final margin of victory.
"I think when you get around a group of guys that you truly want to see succeed, you know, you take your own personal ambitions out of it, there's so much that a team can do," linebacker Ernest Jones IV said.
But even for the Seahawks, that joy is soured by the realization this team won't be together in this same form again.
"It's like, man, this thing's over. I can't believe it," safety Julian Love said. "We were such in a groove all year long that a lot of guys wished it wasn't going to end."
The reality is it won't be entirely the same group. Key contributors such as Super Bowl MVP Ken Walker III, cornerbacks Riq Woolen and Josh Jobe, safety Coby Bryant, and wide receiver Rashid Shaheed are set to be free agents when the new league year begins in March. Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon are now eligible for lucrative contract extensions.
There won't be enough to go around for everyone. Just like it did for the Legion of Boom era teams, players will move on. New pieces will be absorbed.
Dark Side v. 1.0 is complete. Dark Side v. 2.0 is back in development.
"The special thing is that this team is forever stamped," Love said. "We will come back in 10 years, and it will be this team, this group of guys, so we'll always have that. And individually, things happen. This is a business at the end of the day, I hope every single guy comes back. Seriously, like every single one. There's not a single person that I think we wouldn't be excited to continue this thing with."
But there is still a parade ahead first.
"I'm sure it will sink in a little bit more tomorrow, once everybody is kind of celebrating and all, but really awesome, just amazing, really cool stuff. So I'm excited," right tackle Abe Lucas said.
The sentiment about wishing they had more to accomplish isn't unique to Love. It's a team that has developed a remarkably strong bond throughout the season, illustrated by Jones racing to support quarterback Sam Darnold in the aftermath of his four interceptions in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in November.
"Sam's been balling," Jones said at the time. "If we want to try to define Sam by this game… man, Sam's had us in every f---ing game. So for him to sit there and say ‘oh, it’s my fault,' no it's not. There were plays that defensively we could have made plays. There were opportunities where we could have got better stops.
"Yeah, I mean, like, it's football, man, and he's our quarterback. We got his back. And you got anything to say? Quite frankly, f--- you."
That defense of Darnold spoke to the cohesiveness of the team and the bond they were creating this season.
They didn't lose again after that the rest of the way.
"I think when you get around a group of guys that you truly want to see succeed, you know, you take your own personal ambitions out of it, there's so much that a team can do," Jones said. "And I think that's what a lot of guys did, put themselves to the side, and I mean, I think you die for a greater cause.
"When winning the Super Bowl, I mean, great things are going to happen to guys who need contracts, guys that (are) coming up on contracts, whatever the case may be. I mean, winning helps. So I think we just believed in the mission."
The Seahawks have created a spire adorned with the helmets of their defeated opponents this season that resides in the team's auditorium at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton. It consists of 17 helmets from Seattle's 17 victories this season, with 16 separate designs tailored to the specific game outfit of each victory.
The New England Patriots helmet is freshly added at the top of the stake after the Super Bowl triumph on Saturday. But it's almost as though the Seahawks wish they could still try to tick off every team in the league with this group.
Instead, they'll just have to celebrate the 17 victories they did achieve and a shiny Lombardi Trophy they managed to bring back to Seattle on Monday afternoon.
"I'm excited," Love said. "I mean, I've dreamed about a Super Bowl parade. It's crazy. I know, like it goes hand in hand with the confetti falling, holding the trophy. Especially in Seattle, like these fans, they were with us. They've been with us this entire ride through the ups and downs.
"The sport has been crazy, especially this year for me personally. I have never been more recognized on the street with my family than this year. They show up and it's always positive. It's always love. And so tomorrow's going to be crazy. I'm sure."
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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