RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner said it will be "special" to see the championship banner unfurled at Lumen Field on Wednesday night before the team kicks off its season with a Super Bowl LX rematch against the New England Patriots.
But Barner, who scored Seattle's only offensive touchdown of that game, said he's "ready to turn the page" to 2026.
"The Super Bowl was awesome, definitely a sick moment, but it's over with. It's in the past," Barner said Saturday. "We still love it, but I'm good. Let's go play some new football."
Barner's comments aligned with a sentiment that has been widely expressed by Seahawks players and coaches this offseason. As they try to become only the third team this century to repeat as Super Bowl champions, they haven't talked about "defending" their title or "running it back."
Coach Mike Macdonald came up with an alternate phrase in the spring to acknowledge that it's a new year and a new team that will have to continue to evolve: "Run it forward."
Macdonald said in the spring that he hadn't sensed "an ounce of complacency" from his players. He reiterated Wednesday how well the team has handled itself after a championship season.
"I feel like our guys have done a great job," Macdonald said. "I feel like if we would've sniffed it out, we would've addressed it, but I feel like when we've gone out on the field, our intent has been good. Are there days that we felt like we probably could've grown more and could've done a better job? Yeah, but I think that's what happens.... There's things on top of my head preparation-wise that we did in the offseason that are under my purview of control that I definitely want to adjust moving forward, but I think that's our mentality. We're always searching for ways to make what we do better."
Defensive tackle Leonard Williams said he has been impressed with how Seahawks players and coaches have handled success and the potential distractions that can come with winning a Super Bowl.
"To me, better than I would have expected, to be honest," he said. "I don't see a single person in the building patting themselves on the back for what we did last year. I think everybody in the building understands that we have to start from the bottom all over again. To get to the top of that mountain, we've got to start from the bottom. Every single person is taking it day by day and trying to... get better as a player. Everybody, regardless of what level you are in this league, has something to grow and get better at as a player, and I think the team has done a great job of handling all that."