Jalen Milroe’s Football Fest TD: What Seahawks Learned
Updated: 2 days ago
Jalen Milroe supplied the kind of sequence that can change the temperature around a developmental quarterback: one throw that traveled more than 45 yards for a touchdown, then one scramble that turned open grass into a 25-yard gain.
Those plays came during Seattle’s public Football Fest practice at Lumen Field, not an NFL game, and they do not rewrite the Seahawks’ depth chart. They did, however, put both halves of Milroe’s athletic profile on display as he enters Year 2.
What happened at Seahawks Football Fest
The confirmed setting is straightforward. The Seahawks’ official Football Fest page lists the event for Saturday, August 8, 2026, at Lumen Field, with practice beginning at 5:20 p.m.
The play-by-play detail comes from an attributed report. Field Gulls reported that Milroe, working with the third-team offense, lofted a pass of more than 45 yards to Montorie Foster Jr. for a touchdown in 11-on-11 work. The same report credited Milroe with a 25-yard scramble later in practice.
Field Gulls also reported that Milroe received most or all of the quarterback work in one-on-one passing drills. Among the notable reps were a back-shoulder connection with Emmanuel Henderson Jr. and work with tight end Elijah Arroyo.
That distinction matters: these are observations from a public practice report, not official game statistics or a team announcement about Milroe’s role.
Why the deep touchdown matters
Milroe’s arm strength has never been the mystery. The more useful signal was the shape of the throw. A deep completion requires the quarterback to give the receiver room to track the ball instead of merely firing it as far as possible. On this rep, the result was an explosive touchdown.
One successful deep ball cannot prove that Milroe has solved timing, anticipation or coverage recognition. It can show that the physical ceiling remains real while Seattle works on the repeatable details underneath it.
The scramble offered the companion reminder. When a play opens, Milroe can create yardage that many quarterbacks cannot. The developmental question is whether he can use that ability selectively—escaping when necessary without abandoning throws that remain available.
Official Seahawks X video featuring Jalen Milroe and Jaxon Smith-Njigba after Football Fest.
Year 2 is about turning traits into a quarterback
Seattle’s official roster page lists Milroe at 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds. The Seahawks selected him from Alabama in the third round of the 2025 draft, No. 92 overall.
His rookie regular season was deliberately limited. Milroe appeared in three games during Seattle’s Super Bowl season and did not record a pass attempt. In the 2025 preseason, however, the team’s official splits show 22 completions on 39 attempts for 255 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, with an 84.9 passer rating.
That makes this summer less about discovering whether he is athletic and more about measuring command: footwork that arrives on time, answers against pressure, accurate intermediate throws and the ability to stack ordinary completions between the highlights.
What the third-team work tells us
The third-team designation is useful context, not a verdict. It says Milroe’s progress should be evaluated against his current assignment rather than framed as a sudden challenge for the starting job. There has been no verified announcement that Seattle is changing its quarterback hierarchy.
For the defending champions, patience is a luxury. The Seahawks can test Milroe’s processing and accuracy in preseason football without forcing the offense to depend on him before he is ready. His mobility may eventually support a specialized package, but that is Football Nation analysis—not a reported Seattle plan.
The next meaningful evidence will be less cinematic than a 45-yard touchdown. Can Milroe get the offense out of the huddle cleanly? Can he identify pressure, reach the correct read and protect the ball? Can he make the same throw after a previous rep goes wrong? Those snaps will determine whether the flashes are becoming a usable NFL foundation.
Football Nation verdict
Football Fest reinforced the reason Seattle invested a Day 2 pick in Milroe. The arm and running ability can tilt a practice—and eventually a game—on a single snap. The public showcase also kept the evaluation in the right place: he is a high-upside second-year quarterback still building consistency behind the explosive moments.
For more from the same Lumen Field practice, see Football Nation’s breakdown of why the Football Fest return mattered, the Rashid Shaheed fantasy impact and AJ Finley’s comeback takeaway.
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