{"id":812554,"date":"2026-03-14T21:18:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T21:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/812554\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T21:18:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T21:18:18","slug":"klint-kubiak-signs-away-seahawks-special-teams-ace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/812554\/","title":{"rendered":"Klint Kubiak Signs Away Seahawks Special Teams Ace"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"520\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Rams-special-teams.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Rams special teams\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>SEATTLE, WASHINGTON &#8211; JANUARY 25: Xavier Smith #19 of the Los Angeles Rams muffs a punt as Dareke Young #83 of the Seattle Seahawks recovers the ball during the third quarter in the NFC Championship game at Lumen Field on January 25, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jane Gershovich\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/seattle-seahawks\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Seattle Seahawks<\/a>, as they have gotten familiar with this offseason, have lost another member of their 2025 Super Bowl Champion roster.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, <a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/status\/2032262232403317203\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Ari Meirov<\/a> on Twitter reported that Seahawks wide receiver\/special teams ace <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/dareke-young\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dareke Young<\/a> is signing with the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/las-vegas-raiders\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Las Vegas Raiders<\/a> and reuniting with his former offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak.<\/p>\n<p>Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and the Seahawks are experiencing that firsthand with the amount of talent that has been poached from their roster this offseason. So far, the Seahawks have lost <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/kenneth-walker\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kenneth Walker III<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/coby-bryant\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Coby Bryant<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/riq-woolen\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Riq Woolen<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/boye-mafe\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Boye Mafe<\/a>, among others. Now, Young will look for greener pastures in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<p>Fits the System\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Dareke Young, since he was drafted in the seventh round by the Seahawks in 2022, has primarily been a special teams player. However, last offseason, under Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Young started turning heads in training camp at wide receiver.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald took notice and remarked on how well Young fit into Kubiak\u2019s system. Gregg Bell of<a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewstribune.com\/sports\/nfl\/seattle-seahawks\/article311762318.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\"> The Tacoma News Tribune<\/a> in September 2025 wrote about Macdonald\u2019s comments on Young.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think this is a great system for him because he can show his physicality in the run game, and he\u2019s really fast, so all the vertical, stretch stuff,\u201d Macdonald said, \u201cAnd then just him in and out of his breaks is just way more decisive. You feel the burst, feel the flexibility, which is a tribute to his work ethic and the work he put on his body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Young didn\u2019t make much of an impact as a receiver last season. Still, he made one of the biggest plays of the season for the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game when he recovered a muffed punt by the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/los-angeles-rams\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rams\u2019<\/a> punt returner, <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/xavier-smith\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Xavier Smith<\/a>, and put the Seahawks in scoring position.<\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s as a receiver or special teams member,\u00a0 Kubiak hopes to utilize his versatility in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<p>Lessons From Seattle<\/p>\n<p>Klint Kubiak isn\u2019t only taking players from the Seahawks; he\u2019s also utilizing lessons he learned in the building.<\/p>\n<p>Working under Mike Macdonald last season, Kubiak got to see the high level at which a championship-winning head coach and organization operate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/47965334\/las-vegas-raiders-coach-klint-kubiak-owner-mark-davis-history-turnover-2026-rebuild\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">ESPN\u2019s<\/a> Ryan McFadden wrote about what Kubiak said he learned from Macdonald during his introductory press conference with the Raiders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI saw [Macdonald] be so collaborative with the building and how closely he worked with the general manager and the owner, and just how clear the communication was,\u201d Kubiak said. \u201cWe were all on the same page. He had a vision, and he was the same guy from April to February, and that\u2019s something that I\u2019ll definitely take with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kubiak will need to lean on his lessons and experience from last year with the Seahawks to help turn around a Raiders franchise that has played in just two playoff games over the last 20 years. The Raiders\u2019 next season will be led by youth and enthusiasm, featuring a first-time head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators, and likely a rookie quarterback at the helm.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/chadgelfand\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chad Gelfand<\/a> Chad Gelfand is a journalist covering the NFL with focus on the Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, and Carolina Panthers for Heavy.com. Gelfand has over six years of writing experience.&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nGelfand previously covered the Philadelphia Eagles for Last Word On Sports. He also has experience writing in the worlds of entertainment and wrestling. &#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nGelfand was an Entertainment writer for the List.com, and a contributor for Fansided&#8217;s wrestling website Daily DDT and The Wrestling Estate. Gelfand has also appeared multiple times as a guest on POST Wrestling&#8217;s &#8220;Bushby and Thompson&#8217;s Wrestling Adventure&#8221; podcast. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/chadgelfand\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Chad Gelfand<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Seahawks\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty SEATTLE, WASHINGTON &#8211; JANUARY 25: Xavier Smith #19 of the Los Angeles Rams muffs a punt as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2081],"tags":[7,6,238,237,261,2635],"class_list":{"0":"post-812554","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-seattle-seahawks","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-seahawks","11":"tag-seattle","12":"tag-seattle-seahawks","13":"tag-seattleseahawks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116229618253986037","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}