The 5 Best Moments From the Seahawks’ ‘Hard Knocks’ Debut: Darnold’s Ring Mishap, Contract Chatter and Tayvis Talk

Rejoice, NFL fans. Football is back, which also means that Hard Knocks is back.

This summer, it’s the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks taking center stage for HBO’s annual docuseries, which gives viewers an inside look at the daily grind of training camp at the professional level.

As cameras follow around the likes of coach Mike Macdonald, quarterback Sam Darnold and reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba (among others) as they begin their Super Bowl LX title defense in Renton, Wash., we'll be cataloging all the must-know and must-see moments for you week after week. That in mind, here are the five best moments from Tuesday night’s premiere of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks.

Sam Darnold’s Super Bowl ring falls out of its case

Tuesday’s debut episode of Hard Knocks opened with the Seahawks receiving their Super Bowl LX rings, and, like much of his career, the moment proved an up-and-down experience for Darnold.

After seeing his teammates Smith-Njigba and Leonard Williams fawn over their new bling, Darnold opened the ring case that descended from the ceiling—only for the ring to fall on the ground in front of him.

The two-time Pro Bowl signal-caller didn’t fret, however. Instead? He made the face pictured above, shrugged off the mishap (something he's gotten pretty good at during his career resurgence) and carried on with the celebration.

Derick Hall arrives to camp with a big contract ... and a bigger truck

Linebacker Derick Hall, a Seahawks' second-round pick in 2023, signed a three-year, $42 million contract extension with the team in early June. Naturally, he showed up for the 2026 season in style.

When reporting to training camp earlier this summer, Hall was filmed backing a massive truck into his parking spot at Seattle's facility. It's a fitting ride for the reigning Super Bowl LX champion, who recorded two sacks and forced a fumble in the Seahawks' big game victory over the Patriots.

Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks seem to be in a good place amid contract talks

Speaking of contract extensions, star Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon—“Spoon”, for short—is among those eligible for one after being selected with the No. 5 pick in the 2023 draft. Talks between Witherspoon’s camp and the Seahawks, led by general manager John Schneider, are ongoing, and HBO gave us a behind-the-scenes look at where they’re at.

“Spoon got wigged out—not last night, the previous night—because Ian Rapoport reported that we’re making him the highest-paid guy and he’s not accepting it, and da da da da da,” Schneider told Macdonald during a meeting in the coach's office, which was aired during Tuesday's ep. “So I called Ian and was like, ‘You need to call the agent and tell them that that’s not f------g coming from us.’ Mo talked to Spoon; everything’s fine. He gets it. He’s in a good spot now.”

”We’ve had negotiations over the last 17 years that haven’t been real fun,” Schneider later told HBO in a sit-down interview. “But every individual’s different. It’s the person, right? So Spoon’s just like this great, high-energy, vibrant guy. We all have the same goal in mind, and we’d love to get that done, because Spoon’s a great player.”

Witherspoon then gave his take on the matter, when cameras captured his ride to the Seahawks’ facility one day.

"Outside of quarterback, we’ve got the hardest position on the field. It’s hard to guard these [pass-catchers], especially when you can’t touch them past five yards ...” the 25-year-old explained of his role as an NFL cornerback. “It’s just a hard job to play, so when you’ve got a guy who can really do—like shut down a receiver, or just be versatile like I am—you don’t come across those guys often. When you’ve got a premier corner like that, you pay him.”

Witherspoon did ultimately say that his mind isn’t on the contract, but rather on winning football games.

Mike Macdonald shares unique perspective on outside noise

Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori was placed on the PUP list to begin camp and is currently riding around Seattle's facility on a scooter as he recovers from offseason ankle surgery. Ahead of one recent Seahawks practice, the defender looked to his coach for some advice, which Hard Knocks captured on film.

“About practice, like, I do want to go out there,” Emmanwori told Macdonald in his office. “But like I don’t want to scoot around, have the fans see me—like, especially when I can’t walk. What do you think?”

Macdonald then shared some strong advice for the rising NFL sophomore.

“The No. 1 thing is what’s best for you and the team,” Macdonald explained. “Whatever is best for you, to get you as healthy as possible as quick as possible, that’s what you should be doing. ... Anybody that doesn’t have any effect on that, it’s all just whatever. It’s like someone talking sh-- about you on Twitter. It’s gonna go away in 15 seconds. Everything will pass. See that note card over there? It says: 'This new hotshot coordinator is terrible. - Rex Ryan.' And I deserved it. I was terrible. ... Back then, I used to care so much about, like, image. And now, he thinks that we’re the best thing ever. ... People’s version of me, and what they think of me, is not me. So it’s like, I’m O.K. with that.”

Some wise words from Macdonald that we can all live by.

Cooper Kupp thought his invite to the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce wedding was a joke

Cooper Kupp, Sam Darnold. — Cooper Kupp couldn’t believe he got the invite to the Tayvis wedding. | Photo via HBO

Like many of us, Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp thought the guest list for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding was a bit too long ... even though he was among those who made the cut. At one point during Tuesday's episode, the wideout was telling Darnold about running into Tony Romo at the star-studded affair when the QB asked Kupp how he learned he was invited.

“Bro, when I got the invitation, I thought it was a joke,” Kupp answered. “I would have imagined that there was a laundry list of people that knew him better.”

“Yeah,” Darnold interjected. “Well they invited 1,000 people.”

Yeah,” Kupp responded. “But it was cool.”

Just some guys talking Tayvis, nothing more to see here.

Next week’s episode of Hard Knocks will air next Tuesday, August 11. Same time, same place.

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