DeMarcus Lawrence spent 11 years in Dallas chasing a championship that never came, watching the Cowboys repeatedly turn big expectations into early playoff exits. He needed one season in Seattle to accomplish what Dallas could not give him in more than a decade. Now Lawrence has his ring, a newborn waiting back home in Texas, and little left to prove. The uncomfortable reality for Cowboys fans is obvious. Lawrence had to leave Dallas to finally become a champion, and now he’s nearing the end of his career.

“Entering NFL season 13, Seahawks DE DeMarcus Lawrence tells me, ‘This will be my last year,”‘ Jori Epstein posted on X.

“But his wife, Sasha, & 6 kids remain back in Dallas so decision so he considered hanging it up this spring,” Epstein added, as DeMarcus added, “It was a tough process. But through the grace of God, I’m able to play another year and soak it all up one more good time before I hang it up.”

DeMarcus Lawrence has made it official. The Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker told Yahoo Sports that his 13th NFL season will be his last one. 

Lawrence’s run in Dallas ended with more frustration than celebration. A 2024 injury reduced him to just four games and raised legitimate questions about whether his career was finished. Instead of walking away, Lawrence stunned the Cowboys and the rest of the NFL by signing a three-year, $42 million deal with Seattle. The move looked risky at the time, but it ultimately gave Lawrence something Dallas never could during his 11 seasons there: a championship.

He’s been fairly open all summer about how close he came to walking away after the Seahawks won Super Bowl LX back in February. Still, he never quite said the words outright until now. What finally pushed him toward this decision? His wife gave him the green light.

“I kind of had my mind made up that if I won, I was done,” Lawrence said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “But I kind of had a bittersweet feeling in my heart, understanding that with the type of team that we had, we should have been where we were last year. This is where the hard part begins, staying on top.”

Looking back at his time in Dallas, Lawrence made four Pro Bowls and got to the playoffs nine separate times, but the divisional round always seemed to be his ceiling. So when he left in March 2025, he wasn’t shy about why.

“Dallas is my home,” he said at the time. “But I know for sure I’m not going to win a Super Bowl there.”

Turns out he called it. Eleven months after making that statement, Lawrence found himself in his very first Super Bowl, and he made sure it ended with a ring. He racked up 6.0 sacks during the regular season. Add the postseason into the mix, and Lawrence closed out 2025 with around 60 combined tackles and six forced fumbles, two of which he took all the way back for touchdowns.

Even with a ring already in hand, Lawrence clearly feels like he’s got something left to prove.

DeMarcus Lawrence returns for final season

So while retirement has been on his mind, nothing about how he’s playing suggests he’s ready to walk away just yet.

“I still have more to give,” Lawrence said during OTAs back in May.

Around the same time, Lawrence was already hinting that hanging it up felt less and less likely. He talked about how his body still had plenty left in the tank and how in his first year in Seattle, he had “the most fun I’ve ever had playing football”.

He’s also spent enough time in Seattle’s defense to know exactly what’s pulling him back for another run.

“They say it’s no fun when the rabbit has the gun,” Lawrence said. “We’re the ones with the dot on our backs. I just want to see how that feels, see the different obstacles that we can overcome, and see if we’re going to stay together in those tough moments throughout a season and just be a part of this brotherhood.”

That said, none of this came easily. Lawrence has admitted he spent much of the offseason going back and forth in his head about whether to call it a career.

“I was very close,” Lawrence said via MyNorthwest.com. “Went through a long offseason of going back and forth, am I going to retire, am I not?”

In the end, he is back for another season, and he understands his responsibility.

 “It’s easy to take over a kingdom,” Lawrence continued. “But the hard part is when you’ve got the kingdom, and now it’s time to defend it.” He added that he did not want to go out the “easy way” and wanted to leave “on top with a bang.”

Now Lawrence is back with Seattle for another shot at a title, even though he could’ve walked away with the perfect ending already in hand.