HBO debuts trailer for ‘Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks’

The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks have already opened their training camp ahead of the 2026 NFL season. Rookies reported on July 17 and veterans will report on July 24. Along with players, coaches and team employees gathered at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton, Washington, there will also be a sizable contingent from NFL Films — capturing all the proceedings for “Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Seattle Seahawks.”

The new five-episode season of “Hard Knocks” will debut on August 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO, streaming on HBO Max. This will be the first time since “Hard Knocks” began in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens that the show features the defending Super Bowl champs.

The Seahawks went 14-3 last season, then defeated their top two division rivals, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, in the NFC playoffs before demolishing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. The final score of that game was 29-13, but it was never really that close. Seattle pitched a shutout for the first three quarters and led 19-0 with 13 minutes left in the game.

Despite the loss of Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III in free agency, the Seahawks return much of the team that took the title last year. Even with the hype building around the rival Rams, the Seahawks are certainly expected to be a serious contender to get back to the Super Bowl this season.

With the series kicking off in two weeks, HBO released its “Hard Knocks” trailer on Tuesday:

According to an HBO press release, the series “features head coach Mike Macdonald, quarterback Sam Darnold, 2025 … Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and defensive standouts Devon Witherspoon and Byron Murphy II.”

It’s only natural “Hard Knocks” would focus on Macdonald, entering his third year as head coach and regarded as a defensive mastermind. Darnold’s reclamation story has been much chronicled, and it will be interesting to see how his journey from draft bust to Super Bowl champion has changed him. Smith-Njigba turned the NFL on its head last season with a league-leading 1,793 receiving yards, so fans will enjoy getting to know him better. Witherspoon is one of the most popular players on Seattle’s defense and a well-respected team leader. Murphy is an underrated star on a dominant defensive line.

“Hard Knocks” has won 21 Sports Emmys over the years, so it’s safe to say there will be some compelling storytelling here. In addition to focusing on Macdonald and the four players listed above, here are three more players we’d like to see featured:

• Leonard Williams: The Seahawks star defensive tackle is one of the team’s elder statesmen, entering his 12th NFL season. The 32-year-old Williams spent the first eight-plus years of his career with the New York Jets and New York Giants, so you can imagine he’s enjoyed his time with a winner. Williams is one of the league’s real good guys, and would be fun to follow.
• Nick Emmanwori: As a rookie with last year’s team, Emmanwori emerged not only as a key weapon for the Seahawks defense but as a prototype for the new breed of do-it-all safeties. Emmanwori was a surprise addition this week to the team’s Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. There was no indication that he was injured during Seattle’s June minicamp. It’s possible this is just a formality to create roster flexibility at the start of training camp and he’ll be taken off the PUP list soon. But that’s worth monitoring.
• Jadarian Price: With Walker now playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and fourth-year running back Zach Charbonnet still working his way back from a torn ACL, the Notre Dame star enters his first NFL training camp feeling the pressure to make a difference right away. Price, the Seahawks’ first-round pick, was the No. 2 running back option for the Fighting Irish last year, sharing time with Jeremiyah Love, who was the third overall pick in this year’s draft by the Arizona Cardinals. Price will likely enter the 2026 season as Seattle’s No. 1 back, at least until Charbonnet is ready to play. Seems like that’s a pretty big spot for a rookie on a defending championship team.