Mike Williams won’t report to Seahawks headquarters Tuesday in wake of lockout ruling

Seahawks wide receiver Mike Williams has workout bonuses built into his contract, but he said he won’t be at the team’s headquarters Tuesday after a judge’s ruling on Monday halted the NFL’s lockout. (AP)

By Liz Mathews

So is it back to business at the VMAC on Tuesday?

Not for Seahawks wide receiver Mike Williams, who will be staying in Tampa, Florida under advisement of his agent.

U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson’s decision enjoining the lockout has left a number of questions unanswered, most specifically, what exactly will happen on Tuesday morning?

According to ESPN analyst John Clayton, player representatives have advised their clients to report for duty at the team facilities for workouts and treatments, perhaps to preserve the rights to certain contract bonuses.

How teams will react to the players’ arrival in the morning remains unclear. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Monday night that NFL Management Council has told teams to let players into their buildings on Tuesday, but also recommended keeping weight rooms closed.

“I heard about that on Twitter, actually,” Williams said in a phone interview Monday evening. “I called my agent to ask him and he informed me that the league already has a plan in place as to what they are going to do and tomorrow is pretty much going to be a day for them to appeal. Maybe guys will show up and it would be good to see the guys, but I’m not going to be there.

“My agent said that the lockout will be in place after tomorrow. I think I need to attend every day of a workout — that is the plan — but it does go by percentage. Even if tomorrow was counted as a league day, from my understanding from my agent, it still wouldn’t affect the workout clause in my contract.”

Williams said that he has been in contact with a number of his teammates, most notably Matt Hasselbeck, who has been e-mailing and texting the latest news and updates.

“Matt sent the e-mail out today, really breaking it down and letting us know what happened and how this is a win for the players in the long run,” said Williams. “I know that as a group we are all ready to get back together and get ready to build off this last season, but not all of us are local.”

Williams is one of a number of Seahawks players who have specific workout bonuses built into their contracts. His contract also includes a weight clause, but he said his weight is in check and that he is just looking forward to getting back to workouts.

“The offseason has been long enough,” said Williams. “I think players across the league are ready to get back to the facilities and get back to building their teams and putting on shows for the fans on Sundays. We hope this thing gets figured out. In the meantime, I’ll be enjoying the sunshine in either Florida and L.A. and I’ll get to Seattle as soon as this is ready to go.

“If the lockout was over today, I would be totally fine with coming up there tomorrow and weighing in and making my money on the bonus, showing these guys that this first year wasn’t really a fluke and I’m ready to come back this year and do even better.”