Leonard Williams Cashes In: Seahawks Extend Star Defender for Three Years and $90 Million
Leonard Williams just secured the bag. The Seahawks signed their star defensive lineman to a three year, $90 million contract extension this week, locking in one of the best interior pass rushers in football through his early thirties.
At $30 million per year on average, Williams jumps into the top tier of defensive tackle contracts. The number is not shocking because Williams has been playing at an All Pro level, but it does raise the market for every other interior defender heading into the next round of extensions.
Seattle has been quietly rebuilding its defensive front for the last three years. Williams has been the anchor of that project. Losing him would have set the Seahawks back another two seasons at least. Paying him now was not a choice, it was a requirement.
Here is the honest read on the contract. It is fair. Williams is coming off a season with double digit sacks and a run defense grade that most tackles do not touch. He is 31 years old, but interior linemen tend to hold up longer than edge rushers, and his game is built more on power and technique than pure explosion.
The Seahawks defense is now built around Williams and a rebuilt secondary. If Mike Macdonald is going to justify the head coaching salary Seattle just handed him, this is the kind of core piece he needed in place. You cannot design an aggressive scheme without a tackle who commands double teams.
The one risk is durability. Williams has been mostly healthy through his career, but three years is a long time for any defensive lineman. If he plays one full season and one half season, this contract still looks great. If injuries pile up in year two, Seattle has room to move on given the structure will almost certainly be back loaded.
For the NFC West, this is a shot at both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Seattle just told the division it is not rebuilding. It is competing.
Williams gets his money. The Seahawks get their anchor. Everyone wins except every quarterback that has to see him in a division game.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
