Seahawks could completely rebuild with these roster cuts 12s would hate

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams

Cap savings in 2025: $12,550,000

Williams only became a Seahawk midway through last season as he was traded for a 2024 second-round choice. In 10 games, Williams was the most effective defensive lineman that Seattle had. He has been consistently productive (and healthy) throughout his career so the expectation is that he is good again this year.

In 2025, Williams will be 31 years old and one would expect he would start having some diminished numbers. One cannot assume that will be the case, of course, but the Seahawks might anticipate that happening and decide that Williams being re-signed this offseason was really only going to be a one-year deal. His cap number will grow to a whopping $29,150,000 next year.

The defensive lineman would still carry more in dead cap ($16.6 million) than the money saved by releasing him, but $12.55 million for a team that must find cap room is not insignificant. Williams might be fantastic in 2024 and general manager John Schneider might still feel the need to let Williams go.

Defensive lineman Dre'Mont Jones

Cap savings in 2025: $11,572,500

The fact is that Dre'Mont Jones just might not be the player that Seattle hoped he would be when the team signed him last offseason. In five seasons, his highest sack total is 6.5 and he has not made a Pro Bowl. He has never graded overly well as a run defender, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and he has been an inconsistent tackler.

The issue is that Schneider paid Jones as if he would be a transformative player who was among the best at his position. His cap hit is $10,770,416 in 2024, but in 2025 becomes a staggering $25,645,418. The fact that his dead cap would still be $14,072,918 if he was released proves that the Seahawks thought Jones would be better than he was in 2023 when he had just 4.5 sacks and five tackles for loss.

Jones cap it in 2025 is currently seventh-highest in the league, but he graded at number 55 among all interior defensive linemen last year, according to PFF. The hope is that he will greatly improve under new head coach Mike Macdonald, and Jones is already reportedly getting some work as an edge rusher. Macdonald is trying to find the way to best use Jones, but Jones needs to show he is worth his contract.

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