National Football League team captains
Oakland Raiders 2nd-year captain patch
Indianapolis Colts 3rd-year captain patch
Chicago Bears 5+-year captain patch
In the National Football League, the team captain designation is a team-appointed position that designates certain players as leaders on and off the field. The captains program was implemented by the NFL Player Advisory Council established by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in conjunction with the NFL Players Association. Starting in 2007, the league began permitting teams to name up to six players as captains.[1]
Players who have been named a team captain typically have a "C" patch on their jerseys. There is a standard design used by all teams participating in the captaincy program. The patches are in team colors and are worn on the front left or right breast (depending on other patches, etc. worn by the specific team). The number of stars filled in on the patch represents the number of consecutive years that player has been named captain by a team. If they've been named captain for longer than four years, the "C" on the patch is gold. Some teams (e.g. Pittsburgh and New England) do not have this patch on their jerseys but still designate captains. In the case of the Green Bay Packers, they would use weekly captains during the regular season, but would switch to assigning captains whenever they qualify for the playoffs.
The New York Jets suspended designated team captains after an incident involving Santonio Holmes in a 2011 game. In the fourth quarter of the final game of the 2011 season against the Miami Dolphins, Holmes appeared to get into an argument with Jets offensive tackle Wayne Hunter while the team was huddling. As a result of the argument, Holmes was benched for the remainder of the game, and the Jets ended up losing the game, which resulted in the Jets missing the postseason for the first time in three years. His leadership qualities and credibility as a captain have since been questioned. In 2015, under new head coach Todd Bowles, the Jets resumed appointing captains weekly.[2]
In 2018, Coach Todd Bowles has resumed permanent captains. These captains were introduced in Week 2 of the 2018 NFL season.
During special recognitions, the patch may be a different color; e.g., pink for breast cancer awareness;[3] or camouflage for military service recognition.
Because of the nature of the game, most teams include their starting quarterbacks as an offensive captain. The starting quarterback has no other responsibility or authority on field. However, he may, depending on the league or individual team, have various informal duties, such as participation in pre-game ceremonies, the coin toss, the trophy presentation, or other events outside the game. Often compared to captains of other team sports, the starting quarterback is usually the de facto team leader and a well-respected player on and off the field, even before the NFL implemented the team captain's patch in 2007.
Rules
NFL rule 18 details the guidelines for team captains. Within Rule 18, there are four articles that pertain to:
- Number of Team Captains
- Coin Toss Procedures
- Choice on Penalty Option
- Change of [Team] Captains
Coin Toss Procedures – Each team can send as many as six team captains to the center of the field. On each team, one captain is designated the "speaking captain" of the delegation. The visiting team or the team designated "visitor" by the referee (if no team is declared 'visitor') shall choose "heads or tails" or in the case of a special ceremony coin, the options on the face and rear of that coin.
The winner of the coin toss have three options, 1. Defer the choice to the second half, 2. Receive/kick the ball, 3. Choose an end zone to defend. There is strategy in employing your election. It could depend on such conditions as weather, or making an aggressive statement at the beginning of the game, or something simple as coming out of the locker room in the second half receiving the ball.
After the winning captain makes their choice, the opposing team captain chooses from the remaining two options.
Choice on Penalty Option(s) – The offended team captain has a choice of accepting a penalty enforcement or declining, except where said penalty is automatically "enforced by rule." In some circumstances, a team captain may elect to "decline" the penalty. This typically happens in a situation in which declining the penalty may mean that the next down should occur (3rd or 4th). A good example would be on an "offensive holding" enforcement, the defensive team might elect a "4th down and 5 yards to gain" v. a "3rd down and 15 yards to gain."
List
Players listed in bold currently wear the 5+ star all gold captain patches.
[36]
| Team | Offensive captain(s) | Defensive captain(s) | Special teams captain(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
Arizona Cardinals[4] | Larry Fitzgerald | Patrick Peterson, Chandler Jones, Antoine Bethea, Corey Peters | Phil Dawson |
Atlanta Falcons[5] | Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Alex Mack | Grady Jarrett, Ricardo Allen | Matt Bosher |
Baltimore Ravens[6] | Marshal Yanda, Terrell Suggs | ||
Buffalo Bills[7] | LeSean McCoy, Patrick DiMarco | Kyle Williams, Lorenzo Alexander | Steven Hauschka, Taiwan Jones |
Carolina Panthers[8] | Cam Newton, Ryan Kalil, Greg Olsen | Luke Kuechly | Colin Jones |
Chicago Bears[9] | Appointed weekly | ||
Cincinnati Bengals[10] | Andy Dalton, A. J. Green | Michael Johnson, Shawn Williams, Vincent Rey | Clayton Fejedelem |
Cleveland Browns[11] | Tyrod Taylor, Joel Bitonio | Myles Garrett, Christian Kirksey | Britton Colquitt |
Dallas Cowboys[12] | Dak Prescott, Zack Martin | Sean Lee, Tyrone Crawford | Chris Jones |
Denver Broncos[13] | Case Keenum, Matt Paradis | Von Miller, Todd Davis | Brandon McManus, Andy Janovich |
Detroit Lions[14] | Marvin Jones Jr., T.J. Lang, Matthew Stafford | Jarrad Davis, Devon Kennard, Glover Quin | Don Muhlbach |
Green Bay Packers[15] | Davante Adams , Tramon Williams , Kyler Fackrell | ||
Houston Texans[16] | Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins | Johnathan Joseph, JJ Watt, Tyrann Mathieu | Brian Peters |
Indianapolis Colts[17] | Andrew Luck, Jack Doyle | Clayton Geathers, Al Woods | Adam Vinatieri |
Jacksonville Jaguars[18] | Brandon Linder, Blake Bortles, Leonard Fournette | Telvin Smith, Calais Campbell | Lerentee McCray |
Kansas City Chiefs[19] | Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes | Justin Houston, Eric Berry | Dustin Colquitt, Tyreek Hill |
Los Angeles Chargers[20] | Philip Rivers, Russell Okung, Antonio Gates | Brandon Mebane, Melvin Ingram | None |
Los Angeles Rams[21] | Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Andrew Whitworth | Michael Brockers, Aqib Talib | Johnny Hekker |
Miami Dolphins[22] | Kenny Stills, Ryan Tannehill, Daniel Kilgore | Bobby McCain, Cameron Wake | Walt Aikens |
Minnesota Vikings[23] | Kyle Rudolph, Riley Reiff, Kirk Cousins | Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph, Anthony Barr | None |
New England Patriots[24] | Tom Brady, James White, David Andrews | Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung | Matthew Slater |
New Orleans Saints[25] | Drew Brees, Max Unger, Terron Armstead | Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis | Craig Robertson |
New York Giants[26] | Eli Manning, Nate Solder | Landon Collins, Alec Ogletree | Zak DeOssie, Michael Thomas |
New York Jets[27] | Quincy Enunwa, James Carpenter | Jamal Adams, Steve McLendon, Leonard Williams | None |
Oakland Raiders[28] | Rodney Hudson, Derek Carr | Bruce Irvin, Derrick Johnson | Reggie Nelson, Kyle Wilber |
Philadelphia Eagles[29] | Carson Wentz, Jason Kelce | Malcolm Jenkins, Fletcher Cox | Kamu Grugier-Hill |
Pittsburgh Steelers[30] | Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey | Cameron Heyward | Chris Boswell |
San Francisco 49ers[31] | Richard Sherman, George Kittle, Robbie Gould, Joe Staley, Deforest Buckner | ||
Seattle Seahawks[32] | Russell Wilson | Bobby Wagner | Sebastian Janikowski, Neiko Thorpe |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers[33] | Mike Evans, Ali Marpet | Lavonte David, Kwon Alexander | Adarius Taylor |
Tennessee Titans[34] | Delanie Walker, Marcus Mariota | Jurrell Casey, Wesley Woodyard | Daren Bates |
Washington Redskins[35] | Alex Smith | Mason Foster | Deshazor Everett |
References
^ * Darlington, Jeff (September 6, 2012). "NFL captains: 'C' patch comes with varied roles, responsibilities". National Football League. Retrieved 2012-09-06..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "Source: Captain Holmes 'quit' on Jets in loss". go.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ "NFL supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month". National Football League. September 28, 2011. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
^ Scott Allen, "Arizona Cardinals: Team captains announced", raisingzona.com, September 5, 2017
^ [https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/falcons-name-six-chiefs-for-the-2018-season
^ Camille Powell, "NFL's Newest Promotion", TheWashingtonPost.com, October 3, 2007
^ "Quick Hits: Taylor cleared, will start Sunday; Team captains announced". Retrieved 2017-09-06.
^ "The Official Site of the Carolina Panthers". m.panthers.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ Finley, Patrick (September 7, 2018). "Bears name three captains for Packers, but will rotate them each week". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
^ "Bengals not expected to name captains heading into Week 1". cincyjungle.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ "Clevelandbrowns.com - Official Site of the Cleveland Browns". m.clevelandbrowns.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ Doster, Aaron. “Dallas Cowboys Select 2017 Team Captains.” FOX Sports, 6 September 2017
^ Aric DiLalla, "Broncos name team captains", denverbroncos.com, September 7, 2017
^ Justin Rogers, "Ndamukong Suh one of six Detroit Lions players named captain", mlive.com, September 6, 2013
^ "Packers.com, the official website of the Green Bay Packers". m.packers.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ Dale Robertson, "Texans won’t have permanent captains to start season", Ultimate Texans blog, September 5, 2014
^ "Colts Vote Captains", Colts.Com, December 5, 2012
^ Jackson, Brian. "Jaguars name captains for 2017 season". www.news4jax.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ "Chiefs’ Alex Smith, Dwayne Bowe among team captains for opener", KansasCity.com, September 6, 2013
^ "Your Five 2018 Chargers Captains Are". www.chargers.com. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
^ "Rams Name 2018 Season Captains". www.therams.com. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
^ Kelly, Omar. "Ndamukong Suh and Kenny Stills named Dolphins' team captains". sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ "Vikings Announce 6 Captains for 2018". www.vikings.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ "Your 2017 #Patriots captains: Andrews, Brady, Gronkowski, Harmon, Hightower, McCourty, Slater". New England Patriots Twitter. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
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^ "New York Giants name all 2017 captains". 247sports.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ Metro: Todd Bowles has new plan for Jets' team captains... well, not really. Retrieved on 9 September 2015.
^ "The Official Site of the Oakland Raiders". m.raiders.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ "Eagles announce five team captains for 2018 NFL season". bleedinggreennation.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ "Pittsburgh Steelers announce 2017 team captains". 247sports.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ "49ers announce captains for season opener". usatoday.com. September 10, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ http://www.seahawks.com/news/2017/09/06/seahawks-name-team-captains-2017
^ "Official Site of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers". m.buccaneers.com. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
^ "The Official Site of the Tennessee Titans". m.titansonline.com. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
^ Kring-Schreifels, Jake (September 9, 2018). "Redskins Announce Three Captains For The 2018 Season". Redskins.com. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
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