Leonard Williams is one of the more expensive contracts the Seattle Seahawks have. The difference between Williams and a player such as Dre'Mont Jones is that Williams is worth every penny. He made the Pro Bowl this year, though his initial designation as an alternate was ridiculous. He should have gotten the honor originally, and been named as an All-Pro.
The defensive tackle would have had a cap hit of nearly $25 million in 2025 (again, worth every penny) but for a team that is already over the projected salary cap, the amount of money owed was crippling. He was re-signed last offseason through 2026, so the team had a bit of time to work around Williams' numbers if they wanted to.
On Thursday, it was reported the team had restructured the defensive tackle's deal that would increase his cap hit in 2026, but only by about $5 million ($24.95 million to approximately $29.636 million), while adding two void seasons in 2027 and 2028. Basically, Williams will be done in Seattle after 2026, but the team still has two years with his services.
Seattle Seahawks make move to restructure Leonard Williams' current contract
The move also saved the team $14 million in cap room this offseason. Seattle still has a bit to go before being under the cap, but how much it was over was cut in half by the Williams move. Ultimately, the restructure was better for the player anyway. The move converted $18.745 million of Williams’ salary to a bonus.
Now Seattle has decisions to make about other players, though the moves could be more final. For instance, the Seahawks could save a lot of money by releasing Dre'Mont Jones, Noah Fant, Tyler Lockett, and Roy Robertson-Harris. Those would put Seattle well over the cap which means the team could be a bit more aggressive in free agency.
The hope is that general manager John Schneider would spend some of that money by trying to lure a quality guard to Seattle. That is the greatest need for the team this offseason, but Schneider has not made a habit of spending much on interior offensive linemen or drafting players of that position high in drafts.
The restructuring of Williams does prove that the Seahawks do have some plan to spend money. One hopes anyway. The question is how wisely the money created by the Williams move, as well as future moves, will be spent.
