Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks returned to HBO on Tuesday night, and the behind-the-scenes docuseries once again brought the smoke (no pun intended) with episode two.
Heading into their first preseason game week in 2026, Seattle worked its way through the Pacific Northwest’s grueling wildfires to complete its de facto dog days of the summer, and will now welcome the Cowboys to Lumen Field on Saturday night for an 8 p.m. ET kickoff.
Before we get there, however, we must parse through the top moments from this week’s episode of Hard Knocks.
Mike Macdonald chews out Derick Hall for getting too close to quarterback Sam Darnold
Derick Hall was spotlighted on Hard Knocks for a second week in a row on Tuesday night, only this time it wasn’t for reporting to camp in a brand-new truck. Instead, the fourth-year linebacker was kicked out of team drills for getting too close to quarterback Sam Darnold.
After coach Mike Macdonald warned Hall to stop bull-rushing, the defender didn’t listen. On what looked to be the following play, he once again nearly took down Darnold before running past him.
“Hey! Stay away from the quarterback!” Macdonald yelled toward Hall. “Get him out. Get him out. Get him out.”
“What do you want me to do?” Hall shot back. “Damn. Oh my gosh. What the f—.”
“Hey, you can complain all you want,” MacDonald responded. “You can complain all the f— you want. You’re too close. That’s twice. It’s not smart. You can bitch all you want, but it turns out I’m running the f—ing practice.”
That’s now two NFL defenders this week who can’t seem to grasp football’s golden rule: Stay away from the quarterback. Good on Macdonald for laying down the law.
Cooper Kupp coaches up Devon Witherspoon during 1-on-1s
Iron undoubtedly sharpens iron during NFL training camps, and there may be no better example of that than during 1-on-1s.
After wide receiver Cooper Kupp beat cornerback Devon Witherspoon on two consecutive reps, the three-time Pro Bowl defender yelled in frustration before making his way back to the sideline. Rather than taunting or talking smack to his younger teammate, however, the veteran pass-catcher instead relayed some strategic advice.
“As soon as I came off slow,” Kupp told Witherspoon. “I felt you realize and slide over.”
A cool moment between two competitors.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba draws a comparison to Victor Wembanyama
While hosting Spurs coach (and Seattle native) Mitch Johnson on a training camp visit this past week, Macdonald couldn’t help but ask about star Victor Wembanyama.
“Of all the goals, he wants to be the best player, no question,” Johnson explained. “He’ll tell you that without a blink. … [But] he’s never done anything that puts himself above the team. Ever.”
This led Hard Knocks narrator Liev Schreiber to compare Wembanyama to Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba by saying, “It’s rare for the best player in the game to also be the most selfless, but the Seahawks are blessed with such a man.”
Smith-Njigba hauled in 119 catches for a league-leading 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2025 on his way to winning the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award. He then signed a record four-year, $168 million contract extension this offseason that made him the highest-paid wide receiver in league history.
Still, according to Seattle’s wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson, the 24-year-old remains the same.
“Jax, he’s just a fun dude to coach, man,” Jackson said. “Like you wouldn’t know that he’s gotten the things he’s gotten just the way he acts and goes about his business. … Like he’s the only No. 1 wideout I’ve been around where you can challenge him and he ain’t taking it personal.”
Cameras capture GM John Schneider, Macdonald debating signing Terrion Arnold
The Seahawks recently hosted free agent cornerback Terrion Arnold on a visit last week, and the team is now mulling over signing the 2024 first-round pick.
Arnold, 23, was arrested in Tampa back in June on eight felony charges that stem from a robbery and kidnapping earlier this year where police say he was the “primary conspirator.” The Lions released Arnold days later, and he can now sign elsewhere amid his legal battle—which continues with an arraignment on Thursday.
Seattle is now mulling over signing him.
“I’m trying to remember what would be another controversial signing that has happened so that we can kind of understand the situation,” Schneider said to his assistant, Joey, before later heading to Macdonald’s office to talk it over.
“I talked to Jalen [Milroe, Arnold’s former teammate at Alabama] about him,” he said. “‘He was awesome. This place would be awesome for him. … He’s just like ‘Spoon.’ Joey thinks he’s going to be able to play in the preseason.”
We’ll see if Seattle ultimately pounces. Either way, this was an interesting behind-the-scenes look.
Franchise legend Marshawn Lynch arrives to adjust Seahawks players’ Madden ratings
In partnership with EA Sports’s release of Madden NFL 27, longtime Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch arrived at the team’s in-stadium practice to help adjust some of its players’ ratings.
Here’s a clip:
Seattle’s secondary is impressing @MoneyLynch 😂
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the @Seahawks airs tonight at 9pm ET on @hbomax pic.twitter.com/oKAgfg293d
— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2026
Some of Lynch’s other interactions with his former team included a handful of NSFW comments, a live evaluation of punter Michael Dickson kicking a ball into the net and him chirping Julian Love about the rest of the team’s safety room.
Never change, Beast Mode. Never change.
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