RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesLeonard Williams and the Seahawks have had “conversations” about a new contract.
But it sounds like those talks can, and will, wait.
“There’s been a few conversations,” Williams, the 31-year-old Pro Bowl veteran defensive lineman said Tuesday in his 12th NFL training camp. “But nothing set in stone.”
Williams and his wife Hailey married in April 2025 . They had their first baby born this offseason.
Last December, as he and the Seahawks were soaring into winning the Super Bowl, Williams marveled at Arizona’s six-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Calais Campbell then playing his 18th NFL season, at age 39.
That was when The News Tribune asked Williams how much longer he wanted to play.
“I’m not sure,” Williams said in December . “I want to play as long as possible. As long as I still love it. As long as I’m still feeling good physically, mentally, which I feel like I have a few more years left in me of that.
“But it’s hard to say I want to play another five, 10, it’s hard to put a number on it at this point. Because let’s say I say five and then by the time five years comes around, I want to play five more. So it’s hard to put a number on it.
“But right now, I feel pretty good.”
Indeed, in this training camp he is practicing and looking as vibrant as ever. He’s hopping around to the cheers of fans each day as he runs onto the field to begin drills. He’s moving up and down the defensive line beating blocks and getting into the starting offense’s backfield. He’s pulling aside younger defensive and offensive linemen alike to teach finer points.
The Seahawks in 16 years with general manager John Schneider typically extend the contracts of bedrock players entering the final year of their current deals. Schneider is negotiating another such top-of-the-market contract extension with Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon right now.
Williams is entering the final season of his Seahawks contract that is paying him $15.9 million in base salary this year. His salary-cap charge is $29.6 million. That’s the second-highest on the team, behind only quarterback Sam Darnold ($37.9 million against the league’s $301.2 million salary cap for 2026).
The team could lower Williams’ cap charge for this year to a more team-friendly number with a new extension now for beyond 2026.
Yet Williams indicated he and the Seahawks are content on letting the dynamic tackle and end play out this his 12th NFL season and then re-assess whether he wants to play a 13th, 14th and beyond.
“I think we’re all focused on the season starting right now. We know that that’s towards the end of the season,” Williams said Tuesday.
“We have time to figure that out when the time comes.”
He said of his contract ending after this season, his third full one since Seattle traded with the New York Giants to get him during the 2023 season: “I try not to think about it, honestly.
“I’ve always been that type of guy,” Williams said. “You know, I’ve obviously had a lot of contracts at this point in my career. And I’ve always noticed that players that really focus on their contract end up not playing well. They end up having their head in the wrong place.
“I’ve noticed that when I just focused on being where I’m at, focusing on my team and how I can get better individually things all tend to work themselves out.”
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