Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald dropped one of the most surprising roster announcements of the entire Super Bowl buildup just days before the biggest game of the 2025 season. With Super Bowl LX set to take place on February 9, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium, Macdonald revealed the final travel roster and starting lineup projections for the championship clash against the New England Patriots. The decisions sent immediate shockwaves through Seahawks Nation.

Three names that virtually no one expected to see in the starting lineup suddenly appeared in the official depth chart released by the team. At the same time, one glaring and hugely significant absence has left fans reeling, flooding social media with concern, speculation, and outright anxiety about how the Seahawks can overcome the loss on the sport’s grandest stage.

First, rookie cornerback Tre Brown has been elevated to a starting boundary role opposite Pro Bowl corner Riq Woolen. Brown, who spent most of the regular season rotating in sparingly and contributing primarily on special teams, was not listed as a realistic starter by any major outlet or analyst heading into championship week. His sudden promotion suggests the coaching staff is prioritizing elite speed and length to try to match up with New England’s quick-tempo, motion-heavy passing game that has shredded secondaries throughout the postseason.

Second, second-year tight end Brady Russell is now listed as the primary TE2 and is expected to see heavy snaps in 12- and 13-personnel packages. Russell has barely played meaningful offensive snaps all season—his total targets barely reached double digits before the playoffs. The move appears designed to create new underneath mismatches, give Geno Smith another reliable safety valve against a Patriots defense that loves to crowd the line of scrimmage, and potentially open up play-action opportunities that have been less effective without a second tight end threat.

Third, undrafted running back Kenny McIntosh has been thrust into the No. 2 running back role behind Kenneth Walker III. McIntosh spent the majority of the season on the practice squad before being elevated late in the year for depth. Few outside the building believed he would see more than a handful of special-teams snaps in the Super Bowl, let alone become a featured part of the backfield rotation. His inclusion signals either a desire for a different running style in certain packages or a contingency plan should Walker’s workload need to be managed carefully on short rest.

While the unexpected promotions generated plenty of intrigue and debate, they were quickly overshadowed by the one name that was conspicuously missing from both the starting lineup and the travel roster: superstar wide receiver DK Metcalf.

Metcalf has been officially ruled out for Super Bowl LX. Team sources have described the decision as precautionary, citing a lingering soft-tissue injury that flared up again during Wednesday’s walkthrough. The club insists the injury is not season-ending and that Metcalf will be ready for offseason activities, but the reality is stark: Seattle’s most explosive vertical threat, red-zone nightmare, and primary contested-catch weapon will not take the field against one of the NFL’s most disciplined and physical defenses.

The loss of Metcalf cannot be overstated. At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds with elite speed, he forces defenses to account for him on every snap. Without him, the Seahawks lose their most reliable deep threat, their best red-zone target, and the player who routinely draws double and triple teams. Tyler Lockett will slide into the WR1 role, but the drop-off in size, physicality, and ability to win at the catch point is significant.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba will almost certainly see his highest target share of the season, while Laviska Shenault Jr., Jake Bobo, and even tight end Noah Fant will be asked to fill gaps they have rarely been asked to fill in high-leverage moments.

Social media has erupted since the announcement. The Seahawks subreddit, X timelines, and fan Discord servers are flooded with a mix of reactions: cautious optimism about the three surprise inclusions, theories about why Macdonald is going with youth and depth at key spots, and widespread panic over losing Metcalf in the biggest game of their careers. Hashtags like #NoDKNoRing and #TrustTheProcess are trending simultaneously among the 12s.

“We evaluated every option and felt these three young players gave us the best chance to execute the game plan we’ve built for New England,” he said. “Sometimes you have to go with what you see in preparation rather than what the depth chart said in November. Obviously we’re going to miss DK—he’s a huge part of who we are. But the guys stepping up have prepared all year for a moment like this. We believe in them.”

The Patriots, meanwhile, enter the game having won five straight, including two dominant playoff performances. Their defense under new coordinator DeMarcus Covington has been particularly stingy against big-bodied receivers, and losing Metcalf plays directly into their preferred style of jamming at the line, forcing underneath throws, and daring quarterbacks to beat them with precision rather than explosive plays.

For Seattle, the path to victory now relies even more heavily on keeping drives alive with short-to-intermediate completions, leaning on Kenneth Walker III and the run game, and hoping the revamped secondary can contain New England’s own passing threats. The three surprise starters will be under a microscope—any early mistakes could swing momentum quickly in a game expected to be tight and physical.

Super Bowl LX was already shaping up as a classic contrast in style: Seattle’s explosive, tempo-driven attack versus New England’s methodical, clock-controlling, defense-first approach. Now, with Metcalf sidelined and three unexpected starters in key roles, the chess match has taken on an entirely new dimension.

Whether Macdonald’s gamble pays off and the Seahawks can overcome their biggest loss of the season remains to be seen. What is certain is that the stakes have never been higher, and the eyes of the football world will be watching to see if youth, depth, and belief can overcome the absence of a superstar on the NFL’s biggest stage.