As the NFL regular season inches closer, organizations across the league have announced their team captains for the 2026 season. At the beginning of the week, the Los Angeles Rams were among the teams to do so, listing a dozen captains on their roster.
On the list were two Washington Huskies: center Coleman Shelton and cornerback Trent McDuffie, who were both named captains for the first time in their NFL careers. Shelton is entering his seventh season in L.A. after spending time with the team from 2019-2023, before re-signing in 2025.
McDuffie will make his first start in blue and gold after being traded by the Kansas City Chiefs this past offseason. The two-time Super Bowl champion spent four years with the AFC West Organization, where he was
named to two All-Pro teams and won a pair of Super Bowls within his first three seasons.
Now taking his talents to the NFC, McDuffie is a key reason his new team has become the current favorites to bring home the Lombardi Trophy.
Introducing our 2026 captains 🫡 pic.twitter.com/breO1uRqWS
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 1, 2026
Despite finding themselves leading one of the best teams in the NFL, the two former Huskies have taken very different paths to get to where they are today.
After committing to Steve Sarkisian in 2014, Shelton spent five years on Montlake, where he started 40 games and helped lead UW to their first College Football Playoff appearance in 2016. After signing with the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2018, the veteran lineman is now entering his ninth season, which included a Super Bowl LVI victory.
McDuffie arrived on Montlake as a four-star recruit in 2019 and wasted no time making a name for himself. Over three seasons as a Husky, the product of St. John Bosco in Southern California played in all but one game. After being named to the All-Pac-12 First Team in 2021, the star cornerback was drafted No. 21 overall by Kansas City in the 2022 Draft.
The Rams kick off their season with a divisional matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, September 10, in Melbourne, Australia.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: LA Rams Name Two Washington Football Alumni as Team Captains
