Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) celebrates after defeating the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Leonard Williams emphasizes Seahawks' perfect offseason attendance

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Connor Benintendi | Last updated Jun 12, 2025 6:30 PM ET

NFL teams seldom have all their players present for voluntary offseason activities, especially the proven vets. However, the Seattle Seahawks did have that luxury this offseason during organized team activities.

Seattle's returning players are showing they're bought into head coach Mike Macdonald's system and are committed to helping the younger players learn. Speaking to the media on Wednesday after the team's final mandatory minicamp practice, veteran defensive lineman Leonard Williams discussed how critical that attendance is for the Seahawks.

“I think it’s a big deal,” Williams said, per ESPN's Brady Henderson. “Obviously, this part is mandatory, but I think throughout all of OTAs, the vets have been doing a good job of showing up. There’s been times where they missed a few days, but I think … just the overall vibe of the team is that it just feels like everyone’s locked in and wants to be here.”

A positive from the Seahawks’ offseason program: the strong attendance. No holdouts/hold-ins at minicamp and near-perfect attendance at voluntary OTAs. As @robstaton noted, that’s despite several guys up for new deals and two unsigned draft picks.

Leonard Williams on that topic: pic.twitter.com/y4DcRTeMC3
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) June 11, 2025

There can be a lot of reasons for high attendance this early. Williams believes a big part of it is because of the connection this current roster is building after nearly making the playoffs a season ago, but coming up short.

“I’m obviously going into Year 11, so I’ve played a lot of football, been on a lot of teams," Williams added. "Not only am I seeing that we have a very talented team right now, [but] one thing that stands out about the talent is just the connection. That’s something I’ve been trying to talk to the guys [about] that’s really going to take us to the next level where we wanna go.”

If the Seahawks want to take the next step, the entire roster has to be bought in to the culture. Like Williams noted, that will be key to taking their play as a team to the next level. The early offseason program indicates they are trending in that direction.

This article first appeared on Seattle Seahawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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