National Football League team captains - wikipedia National Football League team captains Oakland Raiders 2nd - year captain patch Indianapolis Colts 3rd - year captain patch Chicago Bears 5 + - year captain patch In the National Football League, the team captain designation is a team - appointed position that designates certain players as leaders on and off the field. The captains program was implemented by the NFL Player Advisory Council established by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in conjunction with the NFL Players Association. Starting in 2007, the league began permitting teams to name up to six players as captains. Players who have been named a team captain typically have a `` C '' patch on their jerseys. There is a standard design used by all teams participating in the captaincy program. The patches are in team colors and are worn on the front left or right breast ( depending on other patches, etc. worn by the specific team ). The number of stars filled in on the patch represents the number of consecutive years that player has been named captain by that team. If they 've been named captain for longer than four years, the `` C '' on the patch is gold. Some teams ( e.g. Pittsburgh and New England ) do not have this patch on their jerseys but still designate captains. In the case of the Green Bay Packers, they would use weekly captains during the regular season, but would switch to assigning captains whenever they qualify for the playoffs. The New York Jets suspended designated team captains after an incident involving Santonio Holmes in a 2011 game. In the 4th quarter of the final game of the 2011 season against the Miami Dolphins, Holmes appeared to get into an argument with Jets offensive tackle Wayne Hunter while the team was huddling. As a result of the argument, Holmes was benched for the remainder of the game, and the Jets ended up losing the game, which resulted in the Jets missing the postseason for the first time in three years. His leadership qualities and credibility as a captain have since been questioned. In 2015, under new head coach Todd Bowles, the Jets resumed appointing captains weekly. During special recognitions, the patch may be a different color ; e.g., pink for breast cancer awareness ; or camouflage for military service recognition. Because of the nature of the game, most teams include their starting quarterbacks as an offensive captain. The starting quarterback has no other responsibility or authority on field. However, he may, depending on the league or individual team, have various informal duties, such as participation in pre-game ceremonies, the coin toss, the trophy presentation, or other events outside the game. Often compared to captains of other team sports, the starting quarterback is usually the de facto team leader and a well - respected player on and off the field, even before the NFL implemented the team captain 's patch in 2007. Rules NFL rule 18 details the guidelines for team captains. Within Rule 18, there are four articles that pertain to : Number of Team Captains Coin Toss Procedures Choice on Penalty Option Change of ( Team ) Captains Coin Toss Procedures -- Each team can send as many as 6 team captains to the center of the field. On each team, one captain is designated the `` speaking captain '' of the delegation. The visiting team or the team designated `` visitor '' by the referee ( if no team is declared ' visitor ' ) shall choose `` heads or tails '' or in the case of a special ceremony coin, the options on the face and rear of that coin. The winner of the coin toss have 3 options, 1. Defer the choice to the second half, 2. Receive / kick the ball, 3. Choose an end zone to defend. There is strategy in employing your election. It could depend on such conditions as weather, or making an aggressive statement at the beginning of the game, or something simple as coming out of the locker room in the second half receiving the ball. After the winning captain makes their choice, the opposing team captain chooses from the remaining 2 options. Choice on Penalty Option ( s ) -- The offended team captain has a choice of accepting a penalty enforcement or declining, except where said penalty is automatically `` enforced by rule. '' In some circumstances, a team captain may elect to `` decline '' the penalty. This typically happens in a situation in which declining the penalty may mean that the next down should occur ( 3rd or 4th ). A good example would be on an `` offensive holding '' enforcement, the defensive team might elect a `` 4th down and 5 yards to gain '' v. a `` 3rd down and 15 yards to gain. '' List Players listed in bold currently wear the 5 + star all gold captain patches. Team Offensive captain ( s ) Defensive captain ( s ) Special teams captain ( s ) Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald Frostee Rucker, Patrick Peterson Phil Dawson Atlanta Falcons Appointed weekly Baltimore Ravens Appointed weekly Buffalo Bills Eric Wood, Kyle Williams, Lorenzo Alexander Steven Hauschka Carolina Panthers Cam Newton, Ryan Kalil, Greg Olsen Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, Julius Peppers None Chicago Bears None Quintin Demps, Akiem Hicks Sherrick McManis Cincinnati Bengals Appointed weekly Cleveland Browns None Christian Kirksey, Jamie Collins, Jamar Taylor Britton Colquitt Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott, Jason Witten Sean Lee, Tyrone Crawford Dan Bailey Denver Broncos Demaryius Thomas, Trevor Siemian Von Miller, Brandon McManus Detroit Lions Appointed weekly Green Bay Packers Appointed weekly Houston Texans Appointed weekly Indianapolis Colts Andrew Luck None Adam Vinatieri Jacksonville Jaguars Brandon Linder, Marcedes Lewis Telvin Smith Arrelious Benn Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce Justin Houston, Eric Berry, Dustin Colquitt, Tyreek Hill Los Angeles Chargers Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates Brandon Mebane, Melvin Ingram None Los Angeles Rams Todd Gurley, Andrew Whitworth Connor Barwin Johnny Hekker Miami Dolphins Kenny Stills, Cameron Wake, Michael Thomas Minnesota Vikings Kyle Rudolph, Riley Reiff Everson Griffen, Brian Robison, None New England Patriots Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, David Andrews Dont'a Hightower, Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon Matthew Slater New Orleans Saints Drew Brees, Zach Strief, Max Unger Cameron Jordan, A.J. Klein Craig Robertson New York Giants Eli Manning Jonathan Casillas Zak DeOssie New York Jets Appointed weekly Oakland Raiders Rodney Hudson, Derek Carr Khalil Mack, Reggie Nelson None Philadelphia Eagles Carson Wentz, Jason Peters Malcolm Jenkins, Brandon Graham Chris Maragos Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger Cameron Heyward Appointed weekly San Francisco 49ers Appointed weekly Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner Jon Ryan Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jameis Winston, Mike Evans Gerald McCoy, Lavonte David, Kwon Alexander Josh Robinson Tennessee Titans Delanie Walker, Marcus Mariota Jurrell Casey, Brian Orakpo Wesley Woodyard Washington Redskins Trent Williams, Kirk Cousins D.J. Swearinger Niles Paul References Jump up ^ * Darlington, Jeff ( September 6, 2012 ). `` NFL captains : ' C ' patch comes with varied roles, responsibilities ''. National Football League. Retrieved 2012 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/7411183/source-captain-santonio-holmes-quit-new-york-jets-loss Jump up ^ `` NFL supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month ''. National Football League. September 28, 2011. Retrieved 2012 - 12 - 27. Jump up ^ Scott Allen, `` Arizona Cardinals : Team captains announced '', raisingzona.com, September 5, 2017 Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ Camille Powell, `` NFL 's Newest Promotion '', TheWashingtonPost.com, October 3, 2007 Jump up ^ `` Quick Hits : Taylor cleared, will start Sunday ; Team captains announced ''. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Jump up ^ `` Chicago Bears announce 2017 team captains '', bearswire.usatoday.com, September 4, 2017 Jump up ^ https://www.cincyjungle.com/2017/9/7/16265000/bengals-not-expected-to-name-captains-heading-into-week-1 Jump up ^ ( 3 ) Jump up ^ Doster, Aaron. `` Dallas Cowboys Select 2017 Team Captains. '' FOX Sports, 6 September 2017 Jump up ^ Aric DiLalla, `` Broncos name team captains '', denverbroncos.com, September 7, 2017 Jump up ^ Justin Rogers, `` Ndamukong Suh one of six Detroit Lions players named captain '', mlive.com, September 6, 2013 Jump up ^ ( 4 ) Jump up ^ Dale Robertson, `` Texans wo n't have permanent captains to start season '', Ultimate Texans blog, September 5, 2014 Jump up ^ `` Colts Vote Captains '', Colts.Com, December 5, 2012 Jump up ^ ( 5 ) Jump up ^ `` Chiefs ' Alex Smith, Dwayne Bowe among team captains for opener '', KansasCity.com, September 6, 2013 Jump up ^ http://www.chargers.com/news/2017/09/07/chargers-trying-something-different-captains-2017 Jump up ^ ( 6 ) Jump up ^ http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-sp-dolphins-team-captains-20170914-story.html Jump up ^ http://vikingswire.usatoday.com/2017/09/10/vikings-announce-captains-for-2017-season/ Jump up ^ `` Your 2017 # Patriots captains : Andrews, Brady, Gronkowski, Harmon, Hightower, McCourty, Slater ''. New England Patriots Twitter. Retrieved 6 September 2017. Jump up ^ ( 7 ) Jump up ^ ( 8 ) Jump up ^ Metro : Todd Bowles has new plan for Jets ' team captains... well, not really. Retrieved on 9 September 2015. Jump up ^ http://m.raiders.com/news/article-1/Oakland-Raiders-Vote-Name-Four-Captains-For-2017-Season/3c6f652b-a5d7-4674-ae57-2d8cfed53343 Jump up ^ https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2017/9/8/16277826/philadelphia-eagles-five-captains-2017-nfl-season-carson-wentz-jason-peters-malcolm-jenkins-graham Jump up ^ http://pit.247sports.com/Bolt/Pittsburgh-Steelers-announce-2017-team-captains-106947305 Jump up ^ ( 9 ) Jump up ^ http://www.seahawks.com/news/2017/09/06/seahawks-name-team-captains-2017 Jump up ^ ( 10 ) Jump up ^ http://m.titansonline.com/news/article-4/Titans-Name-Six-Captains-for-2017-Including-Tim-Shaw/57b9eb26-c2cb-46d6-942e-e45178e731c2 Jump up ^ http://m.redskins.com/news/article-1/Four-Announced-As-2017-Redskins-Team-Captains/b4b051d3-bda4-46ae-b26c-caa538965fb2 Jump up ^ http://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2015-nfl-rulebook/#rule18 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Football_League_team_captains&oldid=834462747 '' Categories : National Football League players Leadership positions in sports Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from February 2013 Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 5 April 2018, at 21 : 24. 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Question: what are the stars on the nfl captain patch
Answer: the number of consecutive years that player has been named captain by that team