Negotiations between the Seahawks and Leonard Williams will produce an agreement. Although the Giants footed most of the interior D-lineman’s bill last year, the Seahawks are still prepared to pay up to keep the 2023 trade acquisition.
Williams will stay in Seattle on a three-year deal worth $21.5MM per season, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. This represents Williams’ second $20MM-per-year accord; he signed the other in 2021 as a Giant. This also makes the Seahawks’ D-line one of the NFL’s most expensive position groups, with Dre’Mont Jones tied to a $17MM-AAV accord. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the sides were closing in on a deal.
The Seahawks are guaranteeing $43.85MM of this contract, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweets. This might not be the guarantee at signing; nevertheless, Williams has again done well to maximize his value. The Giants guaranteed him $45MM on their three-year, $63MM accord, but that came to prevent a second franchise tag from going on the books. Williams did not have that leverage this time, but after the Seahawks gave up second- and fifth-round picks to acquire the former top-10 pick at the deadline, they are keeping the asset.
Williams, 29, has not posted more than seven sacks in a season in any year besides his well-timed 2020 showing (11.5); he tallied 5.5 (four as a Seahawk) and 16 QB hits in 2023. Williams also has an extensive track record as a quality run defender, though his best work on that front came back in his Jets days. The former top-10 pick played well in Seattle, however, and the Seahawks will put him back to work in a new defensive scheme.
This marks a multiyear pivot for the Seahawks, who were not known for interior D-line spending under Pete Carroll. They now have Williams and Jones signed to upper-crust DT contracts. Both players have worked exclusively in 3-4 schemes in their careers, and Mike Macdonald — after turning Justin Madubuike loose in Baltimore last season — will go about devising concepts to coax the most out of his high-priced D-line presences.
He’s a solidly good player. I just don’t think he’s enough of a difference maker to be worth this kind of money.
Jones and Williams together can be pretty devastating. I think a bigger issue might be the fact that they have no ILB on the roster.