On Monday Night Football, the Seahawks and Detroit Lions will square off for the first time since September 2023, when the Seahawks prevailed 37-31 in overtime. The game will take place at Ford Field.
Here are some of the best players to wear both uniforms during their careers. Ninety players have played for both teams.
DE Cliff Avril
Avril, the 2008 Detroit draft pick who spent his 10-year NFL career equally split between the Seahawks and Lions, is the poster child for Seahawks-Lions Common Threads. He had 39.5 sacks, 37 tackles for loss, and 58 quarterback hits in his time with the Lions. Avril was also a threat when it came to forcing fumbles; in his first five seasons, he did so 16 times, the most during the 2011 campaign with a career-high six.
Avril joined the Seahawks in March 2013 and immediately made an impact on the field, setting career highs for forced fumbles (6) and quarterback hits (14) in a single season.Avril continued to cause havoc in the postseason even after the squad concluded the regular season with a 13-3 record. Just 12 seconds into Super Bowl XLVIII, one of the most memorable plays of his career occurred when the first play from scrimmage was snapped over quarterback Peyton Manning’s head. Avril was there to tag Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno as his knee was down after he recovered the lost ball in the end zone. The safety turned into the Super Bowl’s fastest-ever scoring play.
Avril not only won the Super Bowl at the end of his career, but he was also chosen for the 2016 Pro Bowl after recording a career-high 11.5 sacks. He is also listed in the Seahawks team record book as the team’s leader in postseason sacks (6.5), tied for second in forced fumbles during the season (two), tied for fourth in forced fumbles for his career (13), and tenth in career yards lost on sacks (225.5).
Additional DE threads: Bruce Irvin, Kerry Hyder, Jason Jones, Cory Redding, Darryl Tapp, and Ziggy Ansah
You can not communicate with each other.
Quandre S. Diggs
Diggs was chosen by Detroit in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, and in his rookie season, he started his first game ever. Diggs was elected a season-long captain by his teammates for the 2019 campaign after serving as the captain of a single game a few times in the past.
“I step in this locker room every day, and I just want to earn the respect of my teammates and just let them know that I am going to be out here, I am going to be ready to go,” Diggs said about his new position. He had no idea that the staff in Seattle was beginning to regard him with more respect as a player and leader. Diggs has forced three fumbles and collected six interceptions in his four and a half seasons with Detroit.
Following five games with Detroit, the safety was traded to the Seahawks in October 2019, when he started his first Monday Night Football game against the San Francisco 49ers.
In the third quarter, the ball hawk made quick work of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, which helped Seattle win in OT.
Diggs would go on to be selected to the Pro Bowl three times in a row. From 2019 to 21, he either led or shared the team lead in interceptions. He collected 18 interceptions in all while he was in Seattle, and his 315 interception return yards rank 10th in franchise history. In 2022 and 2023, he was also named team captain, reinforcing his prior career remarks.
“To be honest, it means everything because all I really care about is my teammates’ and coaches’ respect inside this facility… Being a captain with Tyler Lockett, one of my closest friends, is even more awesome. Thus, it is something that was unimaginable to us during our Combine training.”
Diggs was cut after the 2023 season and afterwards accepted a contract with the Tennessee Titans, where he rejoined former Seahawks safety Jamal Adams.Additional database threads: Josh Wilson, Terry Taylor, Michael Jackson, DeShawn Shead, and Justin Coleman
Jon Kitna, quarterback
As an undrafted free agent in 1996, Kitna—a Tacoma native who played collegiate ball at Central Washington—signed with his local team. He played abroad for the Barcelona Dragons and spent time on the practice squad before making his NFL debut in the 1997 campaign. After trailing 21-3 at the half, Kitna led the club to a 22-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders in the second half, starting in place of an injured Warren Moon.
In 1999–2000, Kitna established himself as Seattle’s full-time starter, throwing for over 6,000 yards and 41 touchdowns. With just 39 games played, he is still the seventh-highest passer in franchise history with 1,128 attempts, 658 completions, and 7,552 yards—numbers recently eclipsed by current players.
After playing for five seasons in Cincinnati after leaving Seattle in free agency, Kitna signed with the Detroit Lions, where he would eventually start. During his first two seasons there, from 2006 to 07, Kitna passed for over 4,000 yards passing every season; in 2006, he led the NFL with 372 completions. But he would miss the entire following season due to a back ailment that occurred in Week 4.
After Detroit moved Kitna to Dallas in February 2009, he spent the last two seasons of his NFL career there. Following his playing career, he went back to Tacoma and started working as a coach at Lincoln High School, where he had attended high school. Since then, Kitna’s coaching travels have led him to Texas, Arizona,
Tate was chosen by Seattle in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he played in 11 games and caught 21 passes for 227 yards. He was a full-season starter by 2012, and his numbers showed how much he was contributing to the team’s success.
Tate was a standout on special teams as well as the back to catch punts. His 787 yards and 68 punt returns are in the top ten in franchise history. Tate also has an 80-yard touchdown pass that he caught in a 2013 game against the St.
The pass completion by Louis Rams is tied for the sixth-longest in Seahawks history. From 2011 to 2013, Tate “hauled in 144 of 149 catchable passes since 2011, leaving him with the best drop rate in the NFL over that span, according to Pro Football Focus.”
When Tate caught a game-winning Hail Mary in the end zone with seconds remaining in 2012 on Monday Night Football against Green Bay, it stands out as one of his most memorable plays. The replacement refs affirmed the play call as a touchdown on the field and a booth review confirmed it. That was the last game officiated by substitute officials; regular crews resumed work the following week.
Tate signed a free agent contract with Detroit after winning Super Bowl XLVIII with Seattle, a game in which he caught three catches for 17 yards. It is interesting to note that during his first five seasons, Tate’s receptions and yardage increased each, reaching a career-high of 99 receptions for 1,331 yards and earning a Pro Bowl nomination in his debut season with Detroit. Between 2016 and 2017, he achieved the 1,000 receiving yards mark twice more with the Lions.
Additional WR threads: James Williams, Mike Williams, Jeff Chadwick, and Nate Burleson
