Day one of the legal tampering period saw the Seattle Seahawks agree to terms with DT Leonard Williams and TE Noah Fant. Retaining Williams was at the top of General Manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald. After releasing Colby Parkinson and Will Dissly who both signed with other NFL teams it’s now clear that Schneider and Macdonald felt the 26-year-old Fant was the best tight end in the room.
A GOOD FIT AND NEED
NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport reported that William’s three-year deal was worth $64.5 million with an average salary of $21.5 million per year. William’s contract includes $43.85 in guaranteed money. A midseason trade with the Giants brought Williams over to the Seahawks and saw the 10-year veteran participate in 10 games with Seattle. In those ten games Williams recorded four sacks, 41 tackles 17 of which were solo and of those 17 solo tackles nine were for negative yards.
DURABLE AND VERSATILE
The re-signing of Fant brought some relief to the 12s after tight ends Will Dissly ( Los Angeles Chargers ) and Colby Parkinson Los Angeles Rams ) headed for the coast to their new teams. Fant’s contract is a two-year deal worth $ 21 million with a $9 million signing bonus. Despite breaking his streak of three consecutive seasons with at least 50 receptions Fant was a valuable weapon for the Seahawks in 2023 despite nagging injuries. Starting all 17 games Fant caught 32 passes and became a better-than-average blocking tight end which made Dissly and Parkinson expandable.
BROOKS AND LEWIS MOVE ON
Two more players that have moved on from the Seahawks are linebacker Jordy Brooks and Damien Lewis. Brooks is headed to Miami after signing a three-year $30 million contract. Brooks overcame a horrific torn ACL injury in 2022 and rebounded with a stellar season in 2023. Brooks missed just one game in 2023 and finished with a career-high 4.5 sacks. I
LEWIS SIGNS WITH THE CAROLINA PANTHERS
A third-round draft pick in the 2020 draft Lewis missed five games in the four years he played left guard for the Hawks.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS
The John Schneider and Mike Macdonald era is starting to take shape. The two have a clear plan on what type of player they are looking for on defense. Fast, versatile, strong, and athletic. In his first interview, Macdonald was asked what kind of defense his team will play.
“ I’d say it’s adaptable, but we’re always going to be aggressive on how we want to do it. People ask about our blitz rates and all that; that’s not important to me.” Said Macdonald “ It’s about putting yourselves in positions to win the down, affecting the quarterback, putting your guys in position to have success. “
