On Monday afternoon, the Detroit Lions announced the seven players who will act as captains for the entirety of the 2026 season. They are: quarterback Jared Goff, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, offensive tackle Penei Sewell, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, linebacker Jack Campbell, and punter Jack Fox.
Goff is now entering his sixth year as a Detroit Lion, and he’s been a captain for all six seasons. Not only has he been around for the team’s entire turnaround, but
he’s been a critical part of it—even if some believed he was just a bridge quarterback when he was first acquired in the trading of Matthew Stafford.
St. Brown and Sewell—both acquired in Detroit’s first draft under general manager Brad Holmes—are now in their fourth year of being Lions captains. Their only seasons without being named a captain were each of their first two years in the league. It’s been a similar path for Hutchinson, who was drafted in 2022 and has been a captain for three straight years now (2024, 2025, 2026).
Jack Campbell, despite being the heart of the Lions’ defense for a couple of years running, will be captain for his first-ever season in Detroit. It was only a matter of time, as Campbell was a captain at Iowa for two years. The only thing holding him back from duties in Detroit was that veteran Alex Anzalone had become a strong leader in the locker room. With Anzalone gone in free agency, it was time for Campbell to take his proper place.
“Jack is a big, physical human being for the middle linebacker position, which means he can take a beat and then he can deliver a beating. And that’s hard in today’s game,” Dan Campbell said of Jack during training camp. “So, to have a guy like him, I mean, he can take on a lot of reps. Not everybody can do that, but he’s too valuable. I mean, he does everything for us.”
Alim McNeill is also another first-time captain. Coming off a torn ACL in 2024, McNeill is facing high expectations to bring back disruption to the middle of the defensive line. In 2023, he tallied 10 QB hits, 5.0 sacks, and six tackles for loss, resulting in a contract extension in 2024, just a couple of months before he suffered his injury.
Finally, Jack Fox has been named the special teams captain for the first time in his seven-year career. Detroit has typically gone with a four-phase specialist like Jalen Reeves-Maybin or Grant Stuard, but Fox has been one of the most reliable players on the entire team. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler, a one-time All-Pro, and his currently 10th in the NFL in all-time net punting average (43.1).
