National Football League team captains

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. Players with the C patch on their jerseys represents team captain and the number of stars filled in on the patch represents the number of consecutive years that player has been named captain by that team. If they've been named captain for longer than four years, the "C" on the patch is gold. Some teams (e.g., New England) do not have this patch on their jerseys but still designate captains.

Team Offensive Captain(s) Defensive Captain(s) Special Teams Captain(s)
Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald, C Lyle Sendlein S Adrian Wilson, DT Darnell Dockett, LB Paris Lenon P Dave Zastudil
Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan, TE Tony Gonzalez DE John Abraham P Michael Koenen, LB Coy Wire
Baltimore Ravens [1] Appointed weekly Appointed weekly Appointed weekly
Buffalo Bills [2] QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, RB Fred Jackson LB Chris Kelsay, LB Andra Davis P Brian Moorman, S George Wilson
Carolina Panthers [3] T Jordan Gross WR Steve Smith LB Jon Beason, LB Thomas Davis, S Charles Godfrey P Jason Baker
Chicago Bears [4] QB Jay Cutler, C Roberto Garza DE Julius Peppers, LB Brian Urlacher LS Patrick Mannelly
Cincinnati Bengals RB Cedric Benson, G Bobbie Williams DT Domata Peko, LB Rey Maualuga LB Brandon Johnson
Cleveland Browns QB Colt McCoy DE Robaire Smith, LB Scott Fujita WR-KR Joshua Cribbs, K Phil Dawson
Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo, TE Jason Witten, LB DeMarcus Ware, LB Bradie James P Mat McBriar
Denver Broncos RB Willis McGahee, G Chris Kuper CB Champ Bailey, FS Brian Dawkins LB Wesley Woodyard
Detroit Lions [5] C Dominic Raiola, QB Matthew Stafford DE Kyle Vanden Bosch K Jason Hanson
Green Bay Packers [6] Appointed Weekly Appointed Weekly Appointed Weekly
Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson, QB Matt Schaub LB DeMeco Ryans,LB Brian Cushing, DE Antonio Smith K Neil Rackers
Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton ManningWR Reggie Wayne LB Gary Brackett K Adam Vinatieri, S Melvin Bullitt
Jacksonville Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew, TE Mercedes Lewis DE Aaron Kampman, LB Daryl Smith FB Montell Owens, WR Kassim Osgood
Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel LB Mike Vrabel S Jon McGraw
Miami Dolphins OT Jake Long, QB Chad Henne LB Karlos Dansby, S Yeremiah Bell Appointed weekly
Minnesota Vikings QB Donovan McNabb, RB Adrian Peterson DT Kevin Williams, LB E.J. Henderson K Ryan Longwell
New England Patriots [7] QB Tom Brady, G Logan Mankins DT Vince Wilfork, LB Jerod Mayo, CB Devin McCourty WR Matthew Slater
New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees LB Jonathan Vilma, DL Will Smith WR/KR Courtney Roby [8]
New York Giants [9] QB Eli Manning DE Justin Tuck LS/LB Zak DeOssie
New York Jets [10] No Captains No Captains No Captains
Oakland Raiders [11] RB Darren McFadden, QB Jason Campbell DT Richard Seymour P Shane Lechler, RB Rock Cartwright
Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick WR Desean Jackson CB Asante Samuel CBNnamdi Asomugha Appointed weekly.
Pittsburgh Steelers WR Hines Ward, QB Ben Roethlisberger LB James Farrior WR Arnaz Battle
San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers, C Nick Hardwick LB Takeo Spikes, S Eric Weddle FB Jacob Hester
San Francisco 49ers [12] RB Frank Gore LB Patrick Willis Vacant
Seattle Seahawks QB Tavaris Jackson CB Marcus Trufant RB Leon Washington, RB Michael Robinson
St. Louis Rams RB Steven Jackson DE James Hall K Josh Brown
Tampa Bay Buccaneers [13] C Jeff Faine, QB Josh Freeman CB Ronde Barber, LB Quincy Black LB Adam Hayward
Tennessee Titans QBMatt Hasselbeck CB Cortland Finnegan LB Tim Shaw
Washington Redskins[14] WR Santana Moss, OT Trent Williams LB London Fletcher, CB DeAngelo Hall LB Lorenzo Alexander

References

  1. ^ Camille Powell, "NFL's Newest Promotion", TheWashingtonPost.com, Oct 3, 2007
  2. ^ Chris Brown, "Bills elect six captains for 2011 season", BuffaloBills.com, Sept 10, 2011
  3. ^ James Dator, "Carolina Panthers name six team captains, with one surprise", CatScratchReader.com, Sept 9, 2011
  4. ^ Larry Mayer, "Chalk Talk", ChicagoBears.com, Sept 7, 2011
  5. ^ Chrissie Wywrot, "Stafford, Raiola, Hanson and Vanden Bosch selected as team captains", DetroitLions.com, Sept 9, 2011
  6. ^ Mike Spofford, "Playoff captains elected", Packers.com, Jan 7, 2011
  7. ^ Erik Scalavino, "Captains revealed, with some surprises", Patriots.com, Sep 8, 2011
  8. ^ Gene Higginbotham, "New Orleans Saints Special Teams Has A New Captain After Roster Cuts", whodatdish.com, Sept 3, 2011
  9. ^ Ohm Youngmisuk, "Meet the 2011 captains", ESPN New York, Sept 8, 2011
  10. ^ Rich Cimini, "Rex: No Captains for Jets", ESPN, Jan 2, 2011
  11. ^ Rich Langford, "Oakland Raiders Name Their Captains", silverandblackpride.com, Sept 9, 2011
  12. ^ Matt Barrows, "The players have spoken: Willis, Gore are team captains", sacbee.com 49ers Blog and Q&A, Sept 3, 2011
  13. ^ "Ready To Lead", Buccaneers.com, Sept 8, 2011
  14. ^ "Losing Redskins need better example from captains". WashingtonPost.com. http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/story.asp?i=20111212182944772636008&ref=rec&tm=28&src=NFL. Retrieved 2011-12-12.