Seahawks fullback Brady Russell played the first half of Seattle's preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 16, then drove out of Lumen Field at halftime to be with his wife Annie as she went into labor.

Their daughter, Hadley Catherine, was born the following day weighing 9 pounds, 4 ounces.

"She's a little tank," Russell told The News Tribune.

Annie Russell was two weeks past her due date when game day arrived. The night before, she began having what she thought were contractions, and Russell wasn't sure he'd make it to the stadium. By that afternoon the contractions had stalled, and the birthing center advised the birth wasn't imminent.

"Go play! Go have fun!" Annie told him.

Russell, 27, carried the blue 12 flag onto the field and led his teammates out of the tunnel. He played eight defensive snaps and one on special teams. That lone kickoff-coverage snap produced a highlight: Russell and teammate Jared Ivey leveled Cowboys returner Israel Abanikanda with a hit so violent that general manager John Schneider, watching through binoculars from the executive suite, let out an unprintable exclamation of approval.

At halftime, Russell ran to his locker and checked his phone. Annie's contractions were picking up again. He changed into street clothes and walked out, stunning defensive coordinator Aden Durde, who asked head coach Mike Macdonald where Russell was going. Macdonald told him: his wife was having a baby.

Russell had arranged a contingency plan before kickoff with Seahawks managing director of security George Englebright, including a police car on standby. He didn't need it. As Russell told the Seattle Times on Aug. 19: "They had a car ready in case I needed to get out of there quick, but it wasn't super urgent. I had time to go home and get her."

The whole sequence was captured by HBO's "Hard Knocks" cameras, which filmed Russell changing out of his uniform and accepting congratulations from teammates before he left.

Russell told the Seattle Times he was smitten with his newborn. "She's super cute," he said. "I never thought a newborn was cute until I saw my own."

Russell is entering his fourth NFL season and third with Seattle. He was a Pro Bowl alternate last year and has taken over as the team's No. 1 fullback after Robbie Ouzts was lost for the season with a neck injury. He's also the Seahawks' special-teams captain for the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Seattle plays its next preseason game at the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 23 at 5 p.m. PT on FOX, with the regular-season opener set for Wednesday, Sept. 9.