​The Seattle Seahawks wrapped up their first day of padded practices for the 2026 NFL season this afternoon. Head coach Mike Macdonald sounded as pleased with today’s performance as he’s been at any point in training camp.”Well, I don’t know if it gets much better than this,” Macdonald remarked of the Seattle summer day in his press conference. “Beautiful weather, training camp, pads on, playing football, we got bald eagles flying, we got the blue angels in the sky, it’s pretty awesome. We’re very blessed, awesome day, great practice. Guys were after it [for the] 10 a.m. practice coming off an off day. Guys were in it. It was all around a really great day, really pleased.”If you’ve ever played or coached football, you remember the first day of pads. Nothing captures the feeling that “it’s that time of year again” like going from just helmets and jerseys to strapping up the pads. Players dialed in the mental reps and the gameplan during minicamps, OTAs, and the start of fall camp. They spent the rest of the offseason recovering from last season. They also built out the individual speed, strength, and technical components of their skillsets. What they haven’t done is play the contact sport since January or February. This is their first real chance to let it out.When players put the pads on, the game can finally be played at full speed. Many modern teams go lighter than ever before on contact until the regular season. The Seahawks do the opposite in favor of competition. Macdonald believes it’s worth it. He has fostered a culture where players and coaches believe it too. That’s what today was all about.This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Macdonald: “Doesn’t get much better” than Seahawks 1st padded practice