Leonard Williams is quietly the best defensive tackle nobody's paying like it, and that's about to change. Adam Schefter dropped the news Tuesday morning that Seattle's Pro Bowl defensive lineman is in "conversations" with the Seahawks about a new contract, citing ESPN's Brady Henderson.
Adam Schefter broke the news that Williams and the Seahawks are actively talking extension.
Seahawks Pro Bowl DL Leonard Williams is in “conversations” with Seattle about a new deal, via @BradyHenderson. https://t.co/fxkpF5ZsYm
It's the kind of report that gets buried in a normal week, but for a guy who was just voted the best defensive tackle in football by executives, coaches and scouts, it's a big deal. It means Seattle knows exactly what it has, and it's trying to get ahead of the market before someone else does.
Williams is entering the final year of the 3-year, $64.5 million deal he signed with Seattle, a contract that has void years tacked onto 2027 and 2028, basically forcing this conversation now instead of later. Despite being one of the most disruptive interior linemen in the league, he currently sits 14th among defensive tackles in average annual salary, a number that looks increasingly outdated after the year he just had.
Last season Williams put up 64 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and picked off a pass he returned 92 yards for a touchdown, the longest pick-six by a defensive lineman in NFL history. That production got him his first Pro Bowl nod since 2016 and made him a first-year Pro Bowler for Seattle at 32 years old, still playing like he's got more good football left than anybody expected.
None of this is happening in a vacuum, either. Interior defensive linemen have been getting paid all over the league this offseason, and Williams is arguably the best of that bunch heading into the final year of his deal. If Seattle wants to keep him off the market, these "conversations" need to turn into a signature sooner rather than later.
For now it's just talks, not a done deal, but the direction is clear. Williams has said he's more focused on football than the money, which is easy to say when the team is already trying to make him whole. Watch this space, because the next domino in the defensive line market might be wearing Seahawks blue.