NFL Trade Deadline Day 2023: Seahawks don’t make any more moves after Leonard Williams deal

The NFL Trade Deadline Day has come and gone, and the Seattle Seahawks’ big move was done well in advance of the 1 PM PT cutoff time.

On Monday, Seattle acquired defensive lineman Leonard Williams for a 2024 second-round pick and 2025 fifth-rounder, taking on only a sliver of his salary for the 2023 season. Of course, he’s a free agent in 2024, so either the Seahawks give up a second-round pick for a rental, or they’re potentially adding a big contract to their books the following offseason with not a lot of available cap space.

There really weren’t any other notable trade rumors that popped up involving the Seahawks on Tuesday, so the wheeling and dealing was light. Previous notable deadline week deals for Seattle included Quandre Diggs (for a fifth-round pick!), Duane Brown, and Carlos Dunlap, so I think the track record is pretty solid there.

Meanwhile, it was a little busier across the NFC West. While the Los Angeles Rams did nothing, the Arizona Cardinals sent quarterback Joshua Dobbs to the Minnesota Vikings for late-round pick swaps, while the San Francisco 49ers landed Chase Young from the Washington Commanders for only a third-round pick.

It’s notable that the Commanders also dealt Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears for a second-rounder, so Washington’s trip to the Seahawks will involve a much less daunting defensive front. Even at full strength, the Commanders already had one of the NFL’s worst defenses because their linebacker and secondary play has been bad.

And lastly, the Seahawks did, in fact, not trade DK Metcalf despite some fan speculation/rage-speculation. We can only assume his penalty issues have made him untradeable, thus there was no market for a 25-year-old who’s been a second-team All-Pro and on his way to being one of the most prolific receivers in franchise history. Or, alternatively, it’s the real world and not Madden, and Seattle would be financially irresponsible to trade DK given his contract. Presumably they actually value him as one of their key offensive players, which he has been since the day he entered the league.