It’s been a good year for Seattle Seahawks TE AJ Barner. Not only did the Seahawks win the Super Bowl — with Barner putting up four receptions for 54 yards and the game’s first touchdown — but he improved his rookie season numbers across the board in a breakout season. While tight end was once seen as a potential area of need for Seattle, Barner has now established himself as a go-to option.
In 2025, Barner had 52 receptions for 519 yards and six touchdowns, adding six receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs. In addition, he rushed 10 times for 14 yards and a touchdown as the primary “tush push” operator for the Seahawks.
Seattle Seahawks TE AJ Barner on the Bizarre Story of His “Captain Hook” Nickname
GettySEATTLE, WASHINGTON – DECEMBER 18: AJ Barner #88 of the Seattle Seahawks catches a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field on December 18, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
On Saturday, Barner appeared on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, discussing the Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning season — among other things. The Kelce brothers asked Barner about the origins of his unique “Captain Hook” nickname, a new moniker that he earned from his Seattle teammates this season.
“Pull up to the stadium, going through my normal routine,” Barner said. “Y’all know how it is, you go to the bathroom before the game — you got to. And you know that bathroom’s gonna be a nightmare the longer you wait. So I get up in there, I’m one of the first people in the locker room, bet, I’m gonna go do my thing or whatever.”
“Get down to the bathroom, [I’m a] big, big guy. Big guy,” Barner continued as the Kelce brothers were laughing uproariously at Barner’s brand of storytelling. “Y’all know how it is in the stall, I go to lean forward and sit back, crack my head on this hook that’s like on the back of the stall [door] bro. And it’s one of those moments, like when you kick your dresser or something in the house, and you’re like, ‘Mother-,’ like, ‘What the-,’ you know what I’m saying? I sit down, blood rushing down my head. I’m like, ‘Yoooo.’ So I get up — don’t do my business, get up — and my teammates know me. I’m like, ‘F***, where’s the training room?’ Like, ‘F***, I just split my head open bro.'”
Seattle Seahawks TE AJ Barner Continues Telling the Kelce Brothers His Bizarre Story
“I’m like looking around the training room bro, finally make [it to] the training room, get up in there,” Barner continued. “They’re obviously like, ‘Bro, what just happened?’ And I’m like trying to elaborate to them, trying to get ready for the game, there’s blood rushing down my face. And the next thing they hit me with is, ‘We’re going to have to cut your hair.’ And I’m like, ‘Not the lettuce, bro! Anything but the lettuce.'”
“Yeah so they cut out this little patch, which I still lowkey have a little bald spot. No stitches, thank God. Thank God no stitches. We put a little piece of gauze in it, I wear a skull cap. I go back to that same stall, I finish my business in that stall, just to let that stall know it’s not going to have power over me. Had to let the stall know the Barnyard was there. Then I went out, won the game, had my season-high in receiving yards basically on one catch I had for 61 yards. And we won the game and I cracked my head open, that’s it.”
Seahawks TE AJ Barner Reveals Bizarre Story Behind ‘Captain Hook’ Nickname