Latest free agency rumors & tidbits

February 12, 2018 cc 7 Comments

The NFL year begins in a month, and the rumors and speculation are heating up across the league as free agency and the trading period approach.

In addition to the usual free agency chatter, there is a lot of speculation about what the Seahawks are going to do with veterans Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett — all signed for 2018.

Barring value trade offers, we expect all three to be back — Thomas with a new deal and Sherman and Bennett likely playing their final seasons in Seattle.

Here’s the latest scuttlebutt on Seattle’s top pending free agents and some players who have been mentioned in connection with the Seahawks:

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The roster, Trades

Sherman will be a Seahawk in 2018, unless …

February 9, 2018 cc 3 Comments

Sherman Achilles Of course Richard Sherman is going to play next season. There was never any question about that. He merely confirmed it Thursday night.

There probably isn’t a question about where he will play either — not with him coming off an Achilles injury. Even he said he had no doubt he would be a Seahawk in 2018.

The Seahawks certainly will not cut him, as we said in November after he was injured. And, due to the injury, he probably won’t draw any good trade offers. So the Hawks will be content to help him rehab and prove his mettle again at age 30. And then decide whether to re-sign him in 2019.

But, worth considering: If some team were willing to offer a second-round pick or even a third, would John Schneider take it?

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Contracts, State of the team

Carroll, Wilson exchanging messages?

February 8, 2018 cc 1 Comment

Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson plan to be clapping about their offense a lot this season (Getty Images) Pete Carroll has sent his message, accused by some of power tripping, and now some insiders think Russell Wilson is using his own power play to deliver a message to the Seahawks.

Bob Condotta and Brock Huard, who both know a little something about the inner workings of the Seahawks, are inferring that Wilson’s orchestrated trade to the Yankees is meant as a reminder that Seattle needs to do all the right things to keep Wilson beyond the expiration of his contract in two years.

Quite obviously, this is not a threat to leave the Seahawks to play baseball. But Condotta and Huard think it is perhaps agent Mark Rodgers’ subtle way of reminding the Hawks that Wilson controls his destiny and destination.

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Contracts, Free agency, The roster

12-step program for Schneider’s offseason

February 7, 2018 cc 9 Comments

The third bird was a charm.

The Eagles managed to do what their feathered NFC friends the Falcons and Seahawks could not — finish off the Patriots in yet another high-flying Super Bowl. And now we are officially on to the NFL offseason (which has started with a bang thanks to Josh McDaniels).

The Seahawks, of course, have been finished for a month — enough time for Pete Carroll to perform a major shakeup of his staff (eight coaches gone, five arrived). Now it is John Schneider’s turn.

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Contracts, Franchise history

Hutch poison pill: The rest of the story

February 2, 2018 cc 1 Comment

Hutch KJR Steve Hutchinson is back in Minnesota this weekend for another big opportunity, 12 years after he left Seattle in one of the most infamous free agency moves in NFL history.

As he waits to learn whether he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, making the media rounds in Minneapolis, he has discussed his off-field legacy almost as much as what he did on the field.

Most of the Hutch Poison Pill story is well-known by Seahawks fans, but Mike Holmgren and Hutchinson got together on KJR on Thursday and revealed some more details of one of the most dramatic stories in NFL free agency history.

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Contracts, Franchise history, The roster

Will Schneider pay to end Curse of Hutch?

February 1, 2018 cc 5 Comments

As former Seahawk Steve Hutchinson waits for the Hall of Fame to come knocking this weekend, it is a reminder of what the Seahawks once had — and what they need to build again.

The big question some fans have: Will John Schneider do what Tim Ruskell would not and pay an All-Pro guard?

As longtime fans (pre-“12s”) will recall, Ruskell (Seattle’s GM before Schneider) chose not to franchise the All-Pro Hutchinson in 2006 and ended up losing him to Minnesota.

Hutch and Hall of Famer Walter Jones keyed the best line in Seattle history in the early to mid-2000s, but Seattle has not been able to field a strong line since Ruskell’s huge mistake. We’ve called it the Curse of Hutch.

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