The Seahawks viewed retaining Leonard Williams as one of their top priorities this offseason, and they were able to make that happen just before the start of free agency, with Williams signing a multiyear deal on Tuesday.

"I loved the fans here, the 12s really go crazy," Williams said after signing Tuesday. "I love this area, I love being back with some familiar faces, and I'm also just excited about the trajectory of the team. I feel like we're on the right path and we've got all the right things going, and I'm glad to be a part of that for the next few years."

Williams, who the Seahawks acquired in a midseason trade with the New York Giants, played well down the stretch for his new team, recording 4.0 sacks, 41 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hits in 10 games.

But Williams played last season under the final year of the contract he signed with the Giants in 2021, meaning there were no guarantees the Seahawks would get more than half a season out of him, though Seahawks general manager and president of football operations called retaining Williams "definitely a priority" last week.

"He played great," Schneider said last week on Seattle Sports 710AM. "We're trying to get him back, we'd love to have him back. He's definitely a priority for us. We're in negotiations right now. The agents know how we feel, so we're trying to retain him, no doubt. We gave up that second-round pick, we went for it. We thought he was going to help change our defense, and he played well, but unfortunately we didn't make the playoffs. But he's a guy we want to keep in the mix, you can move him around, he play, three (technique), five, nine, he can play wherever you want. He's a great guy, he likes it here, I had a great exit interview with him, and we hope to retain him."

Williams, the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft, spent his first four and a half seasons with the New York Jets before a trade to the Giants in 2019. He earned Pro-Bowl honors in 2016, and had a career-best 11.5 sacks in 2020, and over the course of his nine-year career, he has totaled 43.5 sacks, 511 tackles, 68 tackles for loss and 173 quarterback hits.

With Williams coming back, the Seahawks return their three most productive interior defensive linemen from last season in him, Jarran Reed and Dre'Mont Jones, a good start up front for new head coach Mike Macdonald's defense. Williams, meanwhile, is excited about what Macdonald will bring to the Seahawks.

"I'm excited about Mike," Williams said. "He obviously had the No. 1 defense in the country last year, and he's a young coach, which I like a lot. I feel like he's going to be able to relate to the players, and I'm excited to see what he brings to the defense."