Seahawks Restructure Leonard Williams in Cap-Creating Move
Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams participates in a drill during training camp at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum
Beginning to trim fat from their bloated salary cap before free agency kicks off on March 12, the Seattle Seahawks made their first significant move to draw closer to cap compliance by restructuring the contract of Pro Bowl defensive tackle Leonard Williams.
According to OverTheCap.com, Seattle converted $18.745 million of Williams‘ salary for 2025 into a roster bonus and also tacked on two void years to the end of his contract, which runs through 2026. These two moves drop his cap hit for next season from $29.1 million to $15.04 million, creating more than $14 million in financial relief for the organization, and he will account for just 5.4 percent of the team’s cap as a result.
While the Seahawks will now have more flexibility heading towards the start of a new league year, as is always the case with a restructured contract, Williams’ cap hit for 2026 will balloon to $29.6 million and account for north of 10 percent of the team’s total cap space. The addition of void years to the contract also carries potential consequences down the road, as the team will incur a $9.372 million dead cap hit if he has not been extended before those extra years kick in after the 2026 season.
After signing a massive three-year, $64.5 million extension last March, Williams turned in arguably the best season of his NFL career starring in coach Mike Macdonald’s defense, which allowed him to maximize his rare positional versatility moving all over the line of scrimmage up front.
Per Pro Football Focus, Williams logged 349 snaps as a 3-tech defensive tackle covering the B-gap, 241 snaps as a 5-tech defensive tackle covering opposing tackles, and 130 snaps in 7 or 9-technique outside of the tackle. Thriving in multiple roles for the Seahawks in his first full season with the franchise after arriving at the trade deadline in October 2023, he nearly equaled his previous career-high with 11 sacks while setting new personal bests in quarterback hits (28) and tackles for loss (16).
In addition to returning an interception 92 yards for a touchdown in a Week 13 win over the Jets at MetLife Stadium and capturing NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors for December/January, Williams also finished in the top 10 among defensive tackles in pressures (55), run stops (26), and run stop rate (10.7 percent), further illustrating his dominance in the trenches.
Despite these impressive numbers, including finishing in the top two among defensive tackles in sacks and quarterback hits in 2024, Williams somehow wasn’t initially selected to the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster, drawing frustration from the player after learning he had only been chosen as an alternate. He also surprisingly wasn’t selected as an All-Pro for the first time in his career, narrowly missing out on Second-Team distinction behind Zach Allen of the Broncos and Jalen Carter of the Eagles.
Looking towards free agency, the Seahawks still have much work left to do after restructuring Williams, as OverTheCap still has the team more than $10 million in the red. Additional moves will need to be made in coming weeks, including the possibility of releasing veteran receiver Tyler Lockett and defensive end Dre’Mont Jones as cap casualties. Extensions for quarterback Geno Smith and receiver DK Metcalf could also be on the table with both players heading into the final year of their respective contracts.
