The Seahawks prepare to face the New England Patriots on Sunday, the first matchup between the two teams since September 2020, a game that the Seahawks won 35-30 in an empty Lumen Field during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 55 players have played for both franchises; here are some of the top players to sport both uniforms across their careers.

DE Michael Bennett

In March 2013, Seattle signed Bennett as an unrestricted free agent after four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It didn't take long for Bennett to became a key member of a historic defense. In his five seasons in Seattle, he racked up 42.5 sacks, 127 quarterback hits, three Pro Bowl selections, and one Super Bowl ring.

Then in 2019, the final season of his NFL career, Bennett played in six games for New England. Even in that short time he managed 2.5 sacks with the Patriots before being traded to Dallas.

Other DL threads: Chad Eaton, Cassius Marsh, Rashad Moore

WR Deion Branch

Branch spent his entire 12-year NFL career with just two teams, starting and ending in New England. The Patriots selected the Louisville receiver in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft and during his first four seasons, Branch became a two-time Super Bowl Champion and a Super Bowl MVP.

Entering the final year of his rookie contract ahead of the 2006 season, Seattle traded for the talented receiver and paired him with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. In total, Branch played 54 games, recording 198 receptions for 2,443 yards and 15 touchdowns before returning to New England.

After playing the first four games of the 2010 season with Seattle, Branch was traded back to the Patriots where he played in one more Super Bowl before finishing his career. For his performance in the three Super Bowl appearances, ESPN ranked him No. 30 on their list of 50 Greatest Players In Super Bowl History.

Another notable thread here is that the 2011 fourth-round draft pick Seattle received from New England (originally Denver's) in return for Branch was used to select a linebacker out of Mississippi State: K.J. Wright.

Other WR threads: Joey Galloway, Josh Gordon, Ronnie Harris

LB Chad Brown

Coming off the 1996 season, one in which he was named first-team All-Pro, selected to the Pro Bowl, and earned votes for the AP Defensive Player of the Year, Brown signed a free-agent contract with the Seahawks on Valentine's Day 1997.

Brown would be voted to two more Pro Bowls and lead the Seahawks in tackles for three consecutive seasons during his eight-season stint with the Seahawks. When he left after the 2004 season, Brown ranked fourth overall in franchise history in tackles (744) and fifth in sacks (48), as well as third in fumble recoveries (13), first in fumble-return yards (96), and first in fumble returns for touchdowns (3).

Following his tenure in Seattle, Brown spent two non-consecutive seasons (2005, 2007) in New England, tallying 46 combined tackles in 19 games there.

Other LB threads: Niko Koutouvides, Barkevious Mingo, Dekoda Watson, Tracy White

TE Jacob Hollister

A pair of PNW kids from Bend, Oregon, Jacob Hollister and his twin brother Cody signed with the New England Patriots as undrafted free agents in 2017. Hollister played in 23 regular-season games, recording eight catches for 94 yards and starting two games.

After two seasons, the Seahawks sent a seventh-round draft pick in 2020 to the Patriots in exchange for the tight end, making him a much bigger part of their game plan than he had been in New England. Perhaps most notably during the 2019 season, Hollister turned in a two-touchdown day against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of which was the game-winner for Seattle in overtime.

"I love being on this team, being around these guys, being around this organization. It's just been awesome and it's all been a blessing. I'm back on the West Coast—I'm from Oregon originally—my sister was up for this game and I had some friends who were up for this game and it's awesome," Hollister said.

Other TE threads: Chris Baker, Pharaoh Brown, Christian Fauria

S Lawyer Milloy

Speaking of hometown kids, Milloy attended Lincoln High School in Tacoma and played college football and baseball at the University of Washington. The unanimous All-American was selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft where he immediately won over the assistant head coach and defensive backs coach Bill Belichick.

"I didn't think he had any weak points," Belichick said at the time. "He was one of the most impressive guys I ever talked to."

Milloy came off the bench for his first six games there, but earned a starting spot midseason and stayed there for the rest of his seven-year tenure in New England. Five of those years he surpassed 100 combined tackles, he totaled 21 interceptions, was a four-time Pro Bowl selection, earned first- and second-team All-Pro honors once each, and became a Super Bowl champion.

The next six years were spent in Buffalo and Atlanta before Seattle signed him to back up Jordan Babineaux in 2009. The next season, first-year head coach Pete Carroll named Milloy the starting strong safety alongside Earl Thomas III.

Other S threads: Rick Sanford

BONUS: Mike Macdonald

While Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has no official history with the Patriots, he does have a connection to the region. At this point, it's well-known that he has strong Georgia ties. Macdonald went to high school in Georgia, attended the University of Georgia, and got his first coaching opportunity near where he grew up. But what many may not know is that Seattle's first-year head coach was actually born in Boston prior to moving south.

Asked about his memories from that time of life, Macdonald had this to say: "I moved in '94. [New England] went to the Super Bowl, I think, in '96. My first football memory is really my dad took me to the old Foxboro, when Drew [Bledsoe] got drafted, and we got a tour of the stadium."

Funny how life works, as roughly 30 years and countless football stadiums later, Macdonald will return to the place where he first experienced the awe of an NFL stadium.