Carroll: Hawks will do Bennett deal ‘when it makes sense’

Salary cap logoMichael Bennett reportedly came to camp because he expects a reworked contract before the season, but that thinking goes against the Seahawks’ philosophy (no new deal with more than a year left), and Pete Carroll made it sound like nothing is going to happen this year.

Carroll told KJR on Tuesday: “We’d love to have Michael here for a long time. We want him to finish his career with us. We intend to get that done. … It’s something that we’re working at. It’s a very difficult thing to get done.”

Asked whether they would do it this year, the coach declined to answer. “We’re going to do it when we can and when it makes sense.”

Bennett reportedly wants $14 million a year — more than three times what he is set to make in 2016. But he’s not going to get that this year.

It is entirely possible that John Schneider and Doug Hendrickson, Bennett’s agent, work out a Band-Aid deal, like the one they did for Marshawn Lynch in 2014.

The Seahawks could guarantee his $1 million in per-game roster bonuses and bring forward $1.5 million in 2017 bonuses. That would bump his pay to $6.5 million, still less than half of what he wants. But it would be a good-faith move, just like they did for Lynch.

Whether that happens or not, we don’t expect Bennett to walk out. He seems too focused on winning the Super Bowl.

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