In the fourth quarter of the Seattle Seahawks' victory against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4, 12s watched in horror as defensive lineman Leonard Williams limped off the field. He sustained an ankle injury. On Monday, head coach Mike Macdonald offered an update on the elite player.
Macdonald said on his next-day show on Seattle Sports 710 AM, "It's an ankle. We're optimistic for (Week 5), but we'll see (how the week of practice) goes."
Thankfully, Williams has remained healthy for almost all of his career. He has missed two games or more in only one season (2022). Williams is 32 years old, though, and aging players tend to get hurt more often. Hopefully, the ankle issue is not the start of a negative trend.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald provides an injury update on Leonard Williams
While the Seahawks have enough talent to survive without Williams, with the 2025 Second-Team All-Pro, the team thrives and has arguably the best interior defensive line in the league. Byron Murphy II is terrific, and veteran Jarran Reed is still productive, but everyone would be affected by an extended absence of Williams.
Seattle is certainly counting on him moving forward. Despite being in his early 30s, the Seahawks agreed to an extension with the player before this season that will keep him playing home games in the Pacific Northwest through 2029 and pay him as much as $90 million.
The team does have an out after 2027; if Williams is no longer on the roster, the team could save $18 million. His cap hit in 2029 is a staggering $42.9 million, so one would assume that Williams will no longer be on the roster by then or will have a reworked contract.
That isn't to say that Williams isn't worth the money he is paid because, in football terms, he definitely is. He is a good human being, a leader in the locker room, and brilliant on the field. If he stays healthy enough, then he will likely continue to be elite at his job.
After Mike Macdonald's update, at least Seattle Seahawks fans know that Leonard Williams isn't going to be out for a long time. For the team to have any chance of defending its Super Bowl title, Williams has to remain active.
Through four games this season, Williams has three sacks and five tackles for loss. That kind of easy production might be impossible to replace should something happen to the defensive lineman. The hope is that nothing happens to him, of course.
Add us as a preferred source on Google