
Seahawks DL Leonard Williams named to \
Seattle Seahawks veteran defensive lineman Leonard Williams is aging like fine wine. Williams was terrific in 2024, recording 64 tackles and 11.5 sacks, the second-most QB takedowns in his 10-year career. He qualified for his second Pro Bowl as a result.
The accolades have consistently rolled in for Williams this offseason as a result. He was No. 99 on the NFL's Top 100 list, and was also named the sixth-best defensive tackle in the NFL by ESPN.
With training camp starting around the league, CBS Sports recently released an article outlining the top 30 players in the NFL aged 30 or older. Williams clocked in at No. 14 overall.
"Another one of the game's underrated players, Williams has been one of the premier interior pass rushers for several years now," Jeff Kerr wrote. "He finished with 55 pressures, 28 quarterback hits and 11.0 sacks last season -- earning a Pro Bowl nod. There's a case to be made that Williams should have been an All-Pro in 2024. He's thriving in Mike Macdonald's defensive scheme."
Leonard should enjoy another big-time season in Mike Macdonald's scheme this year. The Seahawks upgraded their defense this offseason, adding exciting talents like DeMarcus Lawrence and Nick Emmanwori. Continuity and personnel upgrades should help Williams be dominant again in 2025.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Questions loom over rest of Browns quarterback room after Flacco named the Week 1 starter
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Kevin Stefanski resolved the biggest storyline of the Cleveland Browns training camp by naming Joe Flacco the starting quarterback on Monday. But as is the case with the quarterback position in Brownstown, naming a starter for the Week 1 opener against the Cincinnati Bengals set off a new round of questions. The one at the top of everyone's mind is how long Flacco thinks he can hang on to the job? Of the 10 quarterbacks who have started a game for the Browns since they traded Baker Mayfield in 2022, Flacco is tied for fifth with five starts in 2023, when he went 4-1 and directed Cleveland to its third playoff berth since returning to the league in 1999. 'Well, we all know how that works. I mean, that's everybody in the league, but it's not really my job to look at it in that way. It's just to go out there and play my game. Kind of like I've been doing all training camp and not worrying about all that stuff, just going out there, playing my game and being the best I can," Flacco said Tuesday. "I felt like I was having a good camp with the reps that I was given, and that's all you can do.' Flacco would also become the 11th different quarterback in league history to start a Week 1 game when they were at least 40 years old. Even though Flacco was the only Browns quarterback who has not missed time during training camp because of an injury, Stefanski said the decision went beyond what has transpired for the last month. 'I understand with the injuries, how that may look, that's really not the case here,' he said. "Joe performed really well, both in practice, in the joint practices, in the meeting room, you name it. What he's able to bring to the football team, he's earned that role.' Stefanski has not determined if Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders will be Flacco's backup. General manager Andrew Berry also has one week to determine if the team will indeed keep four quarterbacks on the roster. According to Sportradar, that has happened only five times since 2000. Pickett continues to come back from a hamstring strain but did get some snaps in 11-on-11 drills on Tuesday. Sanders was limited due to an oblique injury. Flacco and the starters will see action in Saturday's preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams, with the amount of playtime left to be determined. 'I think we all feel pretty good. You only get a certain amount of reps out there, and I think we've made the most of it, and I think that's every team in the league to a certain extent," Flacco said. "I think the good thing about this week is, we kind of get to put ourselves through a little bit of a game plan and simulate what we would be doing during the year. I think that's going to give everybody that extra confidence to take that next step.' ___ AP NFL:
Associated Press
29 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Questions loom over rest of Browns quarterback room after Flacco named the Week 1 starter
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Kevin Stefanski resolved the biggest storyline of the Cleveland Browns training camp by naming Joe Flacco the starting quarterback on Monday. But as is the case with the quarterback position in Brownstown, naming a starter for the Week 1 opener against the Cincinnati Bengals set off a new round of questions. The one at the top of everyone's mind is how long Flacco thinks he can hang on to the job? Of the 10 quarterbacks who have started a game for the Browns since they traded Baker Mayfield in 2022, Flacco is tied for fifth with five starts in 2023, when he went 4-1 and directed Cleveland to its third playoff berth since returning to the league in 1999. 'Well, we all know how that works. I mean, that's everybody in the league, but it's not really my job to look at it in that way. It's just to go out there and play my game. Kind of like I've been doing all training camp and not worrying about all that stuff, just going out there, playing my game and being the best I can,' Flacco said Tuesday. 'I felt like I was having a good camp with the reps that I was given, and that's all you can do.' Flacco would also become the 11th different quarterback in league history to start a Week 1 game when they were at least 40 years old. Even though Flacco was the only Browns quarterback who has not missed time during training camp because of an injury, Stefanski said the decision went beyond what has transpired for the last month. 'I understand with the injuries, how that may look, that's really not the case here,' he said. 'Joe performed really well, both in practice, in the joint practices, in the meeting room, you name it. What he's able to bring to the football team, he's earned that role.' Stefanski has not determined if Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders will be Flacco's backup. General manager Andrew Berry also has one week to determine if the team will indeed keep four quarterbacks on the roster. According to Sportradar, that has happened only five times since 2000. Pickett continues to come back from a hamstring strain but did get some snaps in 11-on-11 drills on Tuesday. Sanders was limited due to an oblique injury. Flacco and the starters will see action in Saturday's preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams, with the amount of playtime left to be determined. 'I think we all feel pretty good. You only get a certain amount of reps out there, and I think we've made the most of it, and I think that's every team in the league to a certain extent,' Flacco said. 'I think the good thing about this week is, we kind of get to put ourselves through a little bit of a game plan and simulate what we would be doing during the year. I think that's going to give everybody that extra confidence to take that next step.' ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
How To Get MLB Expansion Right The First Time
Apparently, our old friend Commissioner Manfred unleashed some expansion comments recently. This should not come to a surprise to any of you considering that MLB is first and foremost in the business of making money and the sport is secondary. Expansion is going to happen whether we like it or not. Are there enough major-league caliber players to support it? Who knows! The league will get their franchising fees and the players will get more jobs. It is a win-win for the league and Players Association. Expansion in major-league North American sports doesn't happen often. MLB hasn't added a new franchise (not including re-location) since 1998 when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the league. The Tennessee Oilers (now Titans) joined the NFL in 2002. The NBA added the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) in 2004. The NHL has been the only league to add to its list of franchises in the last 20 years with the Vegas Golden Knights introduction in 2017 and Seattle Kraken in 2018. This brought their team total to 32 and you have to assume that this is the number that MLB likely has in mind to be in line with both the NHL and NFL, who also has 32 teams. Now, Stephen Nesbitt over at TheAthletic is proposing a division re-alignment along with two potential new franchises in a two-conference, four-division NFL-esque set-up. It would look something like this: What Stephen lays out is pretty and neat, there are still some major holes and lack of schedule planning. First off, Portland and Salt Lake City are awful ideas. There is no baseball culture and frankly the West doesn't need any expansion. Salt Lake City will get the same support it does as the Arizona Diamondbacks do (not great). Meanwhile, Portland doesn't have the population for a team AND it encroaches on Seattle's fanbase. I can't see it getting approved. My second thought is that new proposed NL South division. Stephen sort of addresses this, but I don't think you can brush off how bad this division would be from a growth perspective with bringing in a new franchise. Assuming you are playing your division rivals a significant amount, attendance away a proposed Nashville or NC team would likely be poor (even with a new park in Tampa). Atlanta's attendance fluctuates and still have a bit of trouble getting butts in seats when they are bad. All this honestly throws off this proposed re-alignment from the get-go. With that you are probably thinking, 'Wow Jay, you sure have a lot to say why you don't like this idea? What would be your plan, genius?' Funny you should ask! The MLB should look to the NHL for inspiration for re-alignment, not the NFL. Moving to a two-conference, four-division set-up is the way to go. Along with the new divisions, I'm also proposing adding games, a new playoff format and more. Are you mad yet? Did it destroy your conventional and conservative views on what rivalries should and shouldn't be? Good. It's time for baseball to take a big leap into redefining itself and I feel like this 're-brand' has it on the right track. Is it perfect? Of course not, I hate that the Nationals are in the 'South' Division. I couldn't think of any other logical place to put them and they were the Southern-most team in the 'East'. But don't worry, they will still play each other because Interleague play is meaningless anymore. With that, the MLB should move to a 170 game schedule and eliminate Spring Training games. Will the players like it? Probably not! Owners will love that extra cash though. In this new format, you will play your division foes 14 times a season and play each team in every other division once a season (you can alternate home-away every year). I did like Stephen's idea of new teams in Nashville and North Carolina. Nashville is a growing city and a passionate fanbase for their existing teams the Titans and Predators. It has a deep history with baseball and the Negro Leagues (hence, the Stars). Charlotte and North Carolina is steeped in baseball culture, supporting minor-league baseball and competitive NCAA baseball programs. There is no better place to make an MLB team work. Another big leap I'm taking is expanding the playoff format. You may groan, but this is more fun and helps grow the game. While the NHL doesn't get the playoffs right at the current moment, they did have an excellent format previously. I'm proposing a 16-team 1-8 seeded tournament where the Top-2 teams in each division make the 1-4 seeds and the rest being filled by wildcards. The first round would be a Best-of-Four game series, with the remaining rounds and World Series being Best-of-Seven. Each conference would look something like this:



