On Monday, Kam Chancellor was asked if he would like to finish his career with the Seattle Seahawks, the team that drafted him in the fifth round of the 2010 draft.

"I love this team," he said. "They gave me the first opportunity—the only opportunity—and I would love to retire here."

A day later, Chancellor took a step toward making that goal a reality, signing a multi-year contract extension heading into his eighth season in Seattle. Chancellor was entering the final year of the contract extension he signed in 2013, and both he and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll had said earlier in the week that the two sides were getting close to reaching a new deal.

Chancellor, 29, began his career playing primarily on special teams as a rookie while serving as a backup to Lawyer Milloy, but after taking over a starting role in 2011, he quickly established himself not only as one of the top safeties in the league, but also as a leader in Seattle's locker room.

"There isn't a finer guy to have as your captain than Kam Chancellor," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said when Chancellor was voted captain by his teammates last season.

Chancellor has earned Pro Bowl honors four times in his seven-year career and been a second-team All-Pro twice while earning a reputation as being one of the league's hardest hitters. He has also been the team's defensive captain two of the past three seasons, and in both 2014 and 2016 he won the Steve Largent Award, which is voted on by players and given to the Seahawk who best exemplifies the spirit, dedication and integrity of the Seahawks.

"First off, there's his physical nature on the football field, his physical presence," receiver Doug Baldwin said last season. "He kind of brings a swagger to the defense, and to the whole team really. There aren't many people who can go up against Kam and win that battle, so he kind of brings the hammer for the whole team. Then obviously his leadership in the locker room, he's just one of those guys who is down to earth. He can talk to anybody, have a conversation with anybody, cares genuinely about everybody, and he brings everybody together."

Discussing Chancellor's return from an injury last season, Carroll said, "He brings years of experience and years of counting on a great player to be a part of it. All that he brings, football-wise, savvy-wise, adjustments, communication, all those things. He's also as hard of a hitter as anybody who plays this game, and that factor, know he's out there and looming, ready to make a hit, cause a factor in our favor. It's coming, so you have that anticipation. He's a great leader too, so he affects people on both sides of the ball with his intensity and focus that he brings, all that stuff."