Seahawks TE AJ Barner Aiming to Turn ‘Obsession’ Into All-Pro Trajectory

Nothing elevates an NFL player’s profile more than winning a Super Bowl, the most prestigious sporting event in the world.

Just ask AJ Barner, who happily basked in the limelight as much as anyone on the Seattle Seahawks during the run to their second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. Capping off a stellar sophomore season in style, the young tight end scored Seattle’s only offensive touchdown in a 29-13 win over New England at Levis Stadium on the receiving end of a 16-yard toss from Sam Darnold and became a folk hero of sorts with his wild, energized antics throughout the team’s Super Bowl parade a few short days later.

To the delight of the 12s in attendance, Barner soaked up every second as the team paraded downtown, but the celebration came with a firm expiration date for him. The former fourth round pick out of Michigan had been battling through various injuries to close out the season that needed to be cleaned up and in the days following the parade, he underwent a pair of surgeries for undisclosed ailments, quickly shifting his attention towards getting right for the 2026 season with more goals to chase down in front of him.

“You go from winning the Super Bowl, doing the parade, to getting two surgeries the next week. People don't really get to see that,” Barner said following Seattle’s first open minicamp practice earlier this month. “It was awesome to reach that pinnacle, but it's like, all right, now I gotta go back, kind of back to the woods, go into the dark, and go get right. So that's kind of the mindset that I've had.”