Will Seahawks Re-Sign Leonard Williams, Jordyn Brooks? John Schneider Weighs In
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Still breaking in a new coaching staff under Mike Macdonald, John Schneider and the Seattle Seahawks hope to start making up ground kickstarting contract discussions with their own pending free agents during the NFL combine, including defensive tackle Leonard Williams and linebacker Jordyn Brooks.
In previous years, after conducting annual end-of-season meetings with players, Seattle already would have plans for free agency well underway when the combine arrived in late February. But aside from restructuring quarterback Geno Smith's contract, all has been quiet on the roster planning front so far thanks to an extensive coaching search that ultimately led to Macdonald being named as a successor for Pete Carroll followed by a lengthy staff building process that just concluded last week, which put the team way behind schedule.
"We literally are just getting done hiring guys, so you think about all of us sitting in a room together, we are all like trying to get to know each other, 'What's important to you, what's important to all these different people?'" Schneider said during his annual press conference at the combine. "Mike and I, we got together, we've got a vision of where we want to take this thing but you've got to get into the specifics of the positions too and understand what is important to those guys in order to get the buy-in with the staff."
With so many new faces trying to get to know one another and learn what matters most to them in quick order, as Schneider explained, there hasn't been much of a chance to really dive into roster construction in what has been a whirlwind of an offseason for the franchise. Moving towards free agency, from offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti, he wants to make sure everyone has their voices heard regarding personnel and roster decisions.
Assuming the role of president of football operations with Carroll ousted in January, though the new coaching staff didn't travel for the combine, Schneider doesn't expect the dynamic without his long-time business partner to be much different, however. Behind the scenes, he will speak with various agents who represent the team's impending free agents to figure out which players could re-sign, relaying what transpired in those discussions to Macdonald and the personnel department. That process hasn't changed and is just on a different time line.
With three straight 100-plus tackle seasons on his resume, re-signing Jordyn Brooks may not be a cheap endeavor for the Seattle Seahawks.
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"The dynamic with Pete and with Mike, it’s a true partnership, so that part’s not going to be different," Schneider commented. "It’s going to be our personnel staff learning these coaches, understanding what’s important to them, and letting them have the trust in our system and the processes that we’ve developed over the past 15 years.”
Asked about Williams, Brooks, and several other free agents on Tuesday, Schneider wasn't able to offer many specifics due to the limited communication between the Seahawks and agents up to this point. But he reiterated numerous times that there are several players who they want to bring back and that this week should provide more clarity on which ones they may be able to re-sign.
As far as top priorities go, Schneider highlighted Williams, who Seattle acquired in October from the New York Giants for a second and fifth-round pick. Playing at a high level in 10 games following the trade, he tallied four sacks and 11 quarterback hits, performing well for a defense that unfortunately struggled down the stretch as the team ultimately missed the postseason.
Given the hefty acquisition cost for Williams and the fact he played so well after joining the Seahawks, Schneider suggested locking the versatile veteran defender up sits at the top of the team's offseason agenda.
"With Leonard, when you look at it, okay, you gave up a second round pick for him. It's kind of like with [safety] Jamal [Adams] a couple of years ago, right? You've given up the compensation, you want to try to get a contract done," Schneider said.
Schneider also hopes to find a way to extend Brooks, a former first-round selection out of Texas Tech. Seattle chose not to pick up his fifth-year option last May as he recovered from a torn ACL, but he made a miraculous recovery to start in Week 1 and finished with over 100 tackles for the third consecutive season while adding an interception returned for a touchdown and a career-best 4.5 sacks.
Only 26, Brooks could be one of the most sought-after linebackers on the market if he hits free agency. While the new coaching staff will play a role in the decision, Schneider likely will try to get him signed before March 13 to avoid potentially losing him to another team, but cost could make things tricky with Seattle currently in the bottom third in the NFL in cap space.
Among other players the Seahawks plan to start negotiations with this week in Indianapolis, Schneider mentioned guard Damien Lewis, tight ends Colby Parkinson and Noah Fant, linebacker Bobby Wagner, and quarterback Drew Lock on Tuesday. Considering the team's cap constraints, it's not realistic to think all of those players will return, and their respective fit with the new coaching staff will be a major consideration in the process as well.
Still, after not being able to dig into free agency much over the past month and change, Schneider remains hopeful Seattle can bring back a majority of its free agents as negotiations ramp up. Working with coaches and personnel staff alike, the next few days will be pivotal towards figuring out who could be back and which position groups the team will need to look for reinforcements either in free agency or the upcoming NFL draft.
"You find out when you’re down here like ‘okay who do you have a chance to get back?’ You have to try to prioritize it and then work with the staff and see if it makes sense for those guys as well. Because you don’t want to be just pushing players on a staff like that, especially a first time out with a new staff. The previous staff those guys we were in a flow. They knew exactly how free agency worked. So we’re not a group that’s like [that], we’re going to work with our coaches and figure that out.’’
