Free agency day 1: Top priority met, Seahawks, Leonard Williams agree to big deal
As most of the rest of the NFL joined the first-day frenzy of agreeing to mega deals with other teams’ free agents, the Seahawks focused on keeping their top one from leaving.
That focus has been there for months.
To prepare for the market’s negotiating window opening Monday, the Seahawks cut Pro Bowl veterans Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, the NFL’s most expensive safety duo. They released defensive tackle Bryan Mone and popular tight end Will Dissly this offseason. They renegotiated the contracts of Geno Smith and Tyler Lockett.
All of it paid off Monday evening for Seattle.
And in 64.5 million ways for Leonard Williams.
Armed with more salary-cap space this time of year than they’ve had in years, the new-era Seahawks are keeping Williams instead of losing him to free agency. The team agreed to a three-year contract averaging $21.5 million per year with the 29-year-old defensive lineman, their top offseason priority.
Vayner Sports, the agency that represents Williams, confirmed the agreement and contract value of up to $64.5 million online Tuesday morning.
The contract keeps Williams from being a 10-game rental that cost Seattle a second-round draft choice in this spring’s draft. That’s what Seahawks general manager John Schneider traded to the New York Giants in October to get Williams.
Williams returning gives new coach Mike Macdonald the anchor on the interior of his defensive line he needs to install his new scheme. Macdonald is bringing that from the NFL’s top defense last season in Baltimore.
The Seahawks are expected to make Williams’ new contract official Wednesday. That’s the first day the NFL permits contract signings coinciding with the first day of the new league year.
Nicknamed “Big Cat” because he’s 6 feet 5 inches and 300 pounds yet has feline-like quickness, Williams is so much what the Seahawks need that in October general manager John Schneider traded Seattle’s second-round pick in this spring’s draft to the Giants to acquire Williams. New York exacted that high a price to trade its $63 million tackle to the Seahawks partly because the Giants agreed to pay a bulk of Williams’ cost for the final 10 games of last season.
Upon Williams’ arrival in Seattle in October, then-coach Pete Carroll called the man he already knew as Leo “a rare player.”
It was a go-for-it move by Schneider. Seattle didn’t get it. Not last season.
The Seahawks began the season 6-3. They were in first place in the NFC West soon after Williams joined the team. But Seattle won just three of its final eight games and missed the playoffs for only the third time in 12 years.
Williams was the most coveted of the 14 Seahawks poised to become unrestricted free agents when the market officially opens Wednesday.
Day two
Day two of the free-agency negotiating period began with the Seahawks missing out on Patrick Queen.
The Pro Bowl linebacker last season for new Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald with the Baltimore Ravens agreed to a three-year, $41 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now-former Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock got this spring what he didn’t get last year: more and better offers in free agency than he got last year when he re-signed with Seattle for one year.
NFL Network reported Lock agreed Tuesday to a free-agent contract with the New York Giants.
That leaves Geno Smith as the only quarterback on Seattle’s roster, for now. That is by design.
Smith, who turns 34 in October, has this year and next year remaining on his Seahawks contract.
Noah Fant re-signs
Dissly agreed to a three-year, $14 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday.
Colby Parkinson reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Rams on a three-year deal worth $22.5 million. ESPN reported $15.5 million of that is in guaranteed. The Seahawks wanted to keep Parkinson, their draft choice from 2020 — but not at that price.
That left the Seahawks with none of their top three tight ends from last season. For a few hours, anyway.
Seattle kept tight end Noah Fant from entering free agency by reaching an agreement with him on a two-year contract. It’s reportedly worth up to $21 million. The 26-year-old Fant is a former first-round pick by Denver. The Broncos sent him to the Seahawks as part of Seattle’s trade of Russell Wilson to Denver in March 2022.
Fant had 82 catches with four touchdowns the last two two seasons for Seattle. He spent many minutes after Seahawks practices during his contract year last season working on catching passes out of a JUGS machine.
Jordyn Brooks leaves
Captain and six-time All-Pro Bobby Wagner is likely to leave.
Fellow inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks left.
Brooks agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract with the Miami Dolphins, the Miami Herald and others reported Monday. The Seahawks’ first-round draft pick in 2020 came back from reconstructive knee surgery in early 2023 to play all last season.
He told The News Tribune in the locker room in Arizona following Seattle’s final game of last season he had yet to hear from the team about another contract and was preparing as if he was leaving.
Wagner has been waiting for a Seahawks’ offer he likes. Signs are it might not be coming, and he could be shopping for another team for which to play his 13th NFL season in 2024.
With Brooks gone and Wagner shopping, the Seahawks were considering whether the 24-year-old Queen fit Seattle’s new defense as well as he fit Macdonald’s unit with Baltimore.
Then Queen chose to sign with the Steelers.
Damien Lewis leaves to Carolina
The Seahawks lost their starting left guard in free agency Monday.
Damien Lewis got into the wave of rich contracts for guards in this market with what NFL Network reported is a four-year, $53 million contract with the Carolina Panthers. Lewis, a third-round pick by Seattle in 2020, reportedly gets $26.2 million fully guaranteed.
He started 61 games in four season with the Seahawks.
Seahawks free-agent tracker
Seattle’s unrestricted free agents for 2024 (in alphabetical order):
LB Jordyn Brooks: To Miami
C Evan Brown
CB Artie Burns
LB Devin Bush
RB DeeJay Dallas: To Arizona
DE Mario Edwards
TE Noah Fant: Re-signing with Seahawks
G Phil Haynes
G Damien Lewis: To Carolina
QB Drew Lock: To New York Giants
TE Colby Parkinson: To Los Angeles Rams
OT Jason Peters
LB Bobby Wagner
DT Leonard Williams: Re-signing with Seahawks
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 7:00 PM.
