Severance agreement arrived, need a second opinion after 16 years as a welding apprentice

The company sent a severance agreement with a release of claims, and I am unsure what to do. There is a non-disparagement clause.

Read the release carefully. Mine included things I did not expect, like a non-compete.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.