The #Seahawks have agreed to terms with one of their: Safety Quandre Diggs gets a 3-year deal worth $40M, source said. Seattle retains a key defender.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2022
While the storylines around safety Marcus Williams have been mostly about losing him, it just got a little harder for the New Orleans Saints to replace him. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, free safety Quandre Diggs will be headed back to Seattle on a new three-year deal.
The deal, which averages $13.3 million per year, also sets an absolute floor for Williams and his next contract. Though he is estimated to pull in north of $16 million annually by some outlets.
Diggs was one of the free agent safeties we at Saints Wire named as a potential replacement if Williams did depart. The eight-year safety would have been a good option for the Saints because of his deep coverage ability combined with being a willing tackler, a quality the Saints value highly in the secondary. Since 2019, he ranks among the league leaders in interceptions with 11. He is working his way back from a serious ankle injury but is expected to be ready to go in time for training camp.
With Diggs headed back to the Seahawks, the task of replacing Williams gets that much more difficult for New Orleans should he leave in free agency. There are still options on the market as the legal tampering period is under way. Houston’s Justin Reid, the New York Jets’ Marcus Maye, and the Saints’ own pending free agent P.J. Williams, to name a few, but Diggs may have been the best option.
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