Seattle extends safety Love after Pro Bowl season

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks reached an agreement on a three-year extension with Pro Bowl safety Julian Love that’s worth up to $36 million, his agents told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

Love, 26, was entering the final year of the two-year, $12 million deal he signed with Seattle as a free agent last spring. He positioned himself for an extension after intercepting a team-high four passes last season and making his first Pro Bowl despite sharing time at safety with Jamal Adams.

One of Love’s interceptions set up a winning touchdown drive against the Cleveland Browns in Week 8. He also picked off two passes in the fourth quarter of a 20-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15.

Love, who played in all 17 games, finished second on the team in tackles with 183. He recorded 10 passes defensed and a pair of forced fumbles.

In May, new head coach Mike Macdonald lauded Love’s leadership and versatility.

“On the field, he has elite poise, and that’s something we’re chasing,” Macdonald said. “If something doesn’t go our way, let’s keep our poise, let’s play the next play. The game is slow to him, so to be able to communicate at a high level I think kind of shows you what it should feel like when he’s out there. We have several guys that are like that … but J-Love in particular, a guy that we’ll be able to move around, change some different spots. You don’t see that yet, but he’ll be a guy that we’ll be able to move around and utilize in a pretty sweet way.”

The Seahawks released Adams and Quandre Diggs in March before signing Rayshawn Jenkins (two years, $12 million) to start alongside Love.

A fourth-round pick in 2019 out of Notre Dame, Love spent his first four seasons with the New York Giants and was voted a team captain in 2022.

Love took part in the Seahawks’ first practice of training camp on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after practice, Macdonald said the Seahawks had a “great visit” with Connor Williams, and that the free agent offensive lineman would play center for Seattle if the two sides get a deal done.

Williams, who played guard for his first four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, switched to center in 2022 with the Miami Dolphins.

Schefter reported earlier Wednesday that the 27-year-old Williams, who tore an ACL on Dec. 11, passed his physical with the Seahawks and that the two sides had started negotiations, but that no deal was considered imminent.

Macdonald said Williams’ timetable for signing somewhere is up in the air as a free agent coming off an injury, “but we’ll see where it goes.”

Olu Oluwatimi, a 2023 fifth-round pick, has been ahead of Nick Harris in the Seahawks’ center battle.

The Seahawks began Wednesday with around $8.5 million in salary cap space, per Over The Cap. Love was set to count $8.09 against the cap, though his extension should lower that number.