Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams hurt his ankle during Week 4 and had to leave the game. His availability, both in terms of playing at all or is limited, is in question. If Williams can't play at all or can't get as many reps, Rylie Mills will need to do his best Williams impression against the San Francisco 49ers.
Williams doesn't miss many games, and he so rarely gets hurt that his ability to play a lot of reps is a given. Without him, the defensive line will clearly be affected because Williams is arguably the best D-lineman in the NFL. But head coach Mike Macdonald isn't going to expect his defense to suddenly be worse without Williams, and that is where Mills comes in.
As a rookie last season, Mills was limited because of a knee injury he suffered in his final year at Notre Dame. He didn't appear until late in the season, and while he stood out in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, he still only played five snaps.
In 2026, the expectation is that Mills will take on a much bigger role, and he was praised by coaches and his fellow players before the season, but he hasn't met the high expectations yet. He has played 66 snaps, split evenly between pass rush and run defense, and he has been meh.
He has two quarterback pressures, both hurries and not hits, and one run stuff. He's been involved in seven tackles, and he's missed one. Solid statistics, but nowhere near the level of Leonard Williams. Likely nowhere near where many thought Mills would be through four games.
Williams was limited in practice on Wednesday ahead of Week 5, and then he didn't practice on Thursday. The final injury report will be released on Friday, and even if Williams isn't ruled out, the team might still need to turn to Mills to increase his reps. That probably should happen whether Williams is injured or not.
Seattle Seahawks fans all saw the strength that Rylie Mills had in the Super Bowl when he pushed his would-be blocker toward quarterback Drake Maye, and Mills basically tackled the offensive lineman and quarterback at the same time. He was immensely impressive and appeared to be the kind of play that Mills could replicate.
He hasn't done that yet early in 2026, but he might have more chances to do that in Week 5 against the 49ers. If Williams can't play or is limited, which seems likely, Mills needs to pick up the slack. If he can't against a good San Francisco team, the Seahawks could be in trouble.
This article was originally published on www.12thmanrising.com as Leonard Williams update opens a massive door for Seahawks' Rylie Mills .
