Leonard Williams expressed interest in staying in Seattle, and although the team already has a big-ticket defensive tackle salary on the books (for Dre’Mont Jones), the recent trade acquisition remains in the team’s plans.
The Seahawks are in talks with Williams’ camp about a new deal for the pending free agent, GM John Schneider said Thursday during an interview with 710 ESPN Seattle (via The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar). The Seahawks acquired Williams from the Giants for second- and fifth-round picks at the deadline last year.
Although it makes sense for the Seahawks to want to extend this partnership, given what they surrendered for Williams, Jones’ $17MM-per-year contract could provide a complication. The Seahawks have edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu signed to a veteran contract as well. The Giants footed most of the Williams bill last year, changing the equation for the Seahawks this time around.
Already franchise-tagged twice by the Giants, Williams was not a candidate to be tagged this week. But he has been one of the NFL’s better interior D-linemen in recent years. While sack numbers have not often been part of Williams’ appeal — save for an outlier 2020 season, which earned him a monster Giants extension — he did produce four sacks after being dealt to the Seahawks last year. Williams, 29, also played 18 games in 2023 due to being moved at the deadline.
The Seahawks were not ready to extend Williams upon trading for him, but they were planning to discuss a deal. The sides are huddling up at the 11th hour. The Seahawks have until Monday morning to prevent Williams from negotiating with other teams; the legal tampering period begins unofficial free agency March 11.
Williams said earlier this offseason he would be interested in staying, and it is interesting the team is making an effort to keep him after changing defensive schemes. Moving on from two-year DC Clint Hurtt, the Seahawks are ready to transition to Mike Macdonald‘s defense. Williams has been a 3-4 defensive end throughout his career, and Macdonald does use that as his base set.
Having two DTs on upper-crust salaries is a rarity, though the Commanders rolled with this setup after extending Daron Payne last year. That said, Washington did not have a veteran starter salary on the books at quarterback. The Seahawks do, with Geno Smith in line to return on his three-year, $25MM deal. That is on the low end for a franchise QB, representing middle ground between a bridge starter and the new QB1 market. The Seahawks also just freed up more than $35MM in cap space by cutting Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs and Will Dissly. The team looks to have had Williams in mind when making those moves.
First year cap hit would be sub $10M via structure. Doesn’t matter about the Geno deal, they can move on after this year from that when the cap hit would be higher for any signings this year