When Russell Okung suffered a dislocated shoulder in the playoff loss to Carolina, it seemed a sad but fitting end to his injury-filled Seahawks career.
But let’s not write him off yet.
In fact, don’t be surprised if Okung comes back to Seattle in 2016 — on a one-year, prove-it deal.
His email to NFL teams explaining that shoulder surgery will sideline him until June proves that his value — already less than he thinks it is — took a big hit with his latest injury.
Thanks to going minus-five in free agency last year, the Seahawks are going to get three compensatory draft picks this year — including a rare third-rounder.
You can bet John Schneider would be fine with getting another third next year — and he has two free agents who might be able to net him that.
The Seahawks have eight key unrestricted free agents — four defensive starters, three offensive starters and punter Jon Ryan — and are not going to be able to keep all of them. In fact, Seattle could end up losing six UFA starters.
But Schneider would be fine with that — because it would mean another nice haul of comp picks (up to the maximum four) in 2017.
Continue reading Projecting market value for Seattle’s top UFAs
For some reason, there is a thought among more than a few Seahawks fans that Jimmy Graham won’t — or shouldn’t — be back next season.
The Seattle Times even ran a poll asking whether fans thought Graham and/or Marshawn Lynch would be back, and about 22 percent thought Graham would not return.
Clearly, these people have not observed how John Schneider and Pete Carroll do business. Graham is not going anywhere in 2016.
A couple of months ago, we wrote that the Seahawks’ bosses — Pete Carroll and John Schneider — were going to have to make some changes no matter how the season ended.
Well, the season has ended (prematurely), and now it is time for those changes.
“There’s all kinds of stuff we’re going to be working on,” Carroll said Monday. “There’s tons of stuff. I’m not going to single anything out right now because there’s no way I can do that and be talking straight with you, because I don’t know. We don’t know at this point. We have a lot of thoughts, and we’re just going to start putting them together over the next few weeks and all.”
Although the Seahawks are slated to have more free agents this year than they have had in any year since Schneider and Carroll arrived in 2010, Schneider’s focus will be a little bit different this time.
Michael Bennett is making it tough on the Seahawks — tough to not give him the raise he wants.
His stellar performance against the Vikings last weekend was one of his best games in a season full of them — further evidence that the team needs to accommodate him financially after this season.
Yes, Bennett has two years remaining on his contract. But, if you recall, he grumbled all last offseason about the four-year, $28.5 million contract he signed in 2014. And he surely will again — especially after this awesome season.
Another shabby performance has put the focus right back on Seattle’s offensive line — a reminder that no matter how well it played during the five-game winning streak, it is still a very subpar unit that will need to be upgraded next offseason.
The Seahawks have eschewed using high picks on the line ever since 2011 selections James Carpenter (first round) and John Moffitt (third) did not work out; so, instead of Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro, guard Joel Bitonio and right tackle Terron Armstead, they have J.R. Sweezy, Justin Britt and Garry Gilliam.
The line has gotten worse every year since Russell Wilson became quarterback in 2012. It has been terrible at the end of the past two seasons, stuck using rookies and undrafted players to fill in for injured or underperforming high draft picks. And the unit just played one of its worst games of this season, albeit without Russell Okung, causing everyone to hope that was an aberration as the playoffs approach.
However the season ends up, the Seahawks have to upgrade the unit in the offseason, if possible, and try to build some stability in front of Wilson for 2016 and beyond.
They need to determine (1) what to do at left tackle, (2) whether to keep Sweezy, (3) whether to add a veteran center to replace Patrick Lewis and (4) what they are going to do in the draft.
Continue reading O-line decisions/options for Seahawks in 2016
It will be a stunner if Kam Chancellor is with the Seahawks next year — his undeserved Pro Bowl spot almost surely sealed his exit from Seattle.
He obviously will use his fourth Pro Bowl election to try to bolster his argument that he should be paid more. Remember, he missed the first two games this season while trying to get a better contract, which is set to pay him $5.1 million in 2016 and $6.8 million in 2017. He quite obviously will try to do it again — and use his “reputation” Pro Bowl vote as proof.
General manager John Schneider already should be planning to trade Chancellor, but this will be the nail in that coffin.
Continue reading Undeserved Pro Bowl spot should spell end of Kam in Seattle
Now you know why John Schneider doesn’t pay big money in free agency very
often: It usually
isn’t worth it.
The release of Cary Williams this week was the latest example. It was the second straight year the Seahawks have gotten rid of a highly paid veteran addition during the season — and they probably set a record with this one, dumping Williams just 12 games into a three-year, $18 million contract.
A year ago, the Seahawks traded Percy Harvin — the pouting malcontent who for a time had poisoned the Seattle locker room.
Since he took over in 2010, Schneider has acquired nine big-contract veterans — defined as making $5 million a year or more — and six of them have not been worth it.
Going into last offseason, the Seahawks were suddenly uncommonly thin at cornerback — and that, in a nutshell, explains why they wasted $7 million on Cary Williams and ended up losing Tony McDaniel.
After the Super Bowl, Richard Sherman, Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon were all facing recovery from injuries of varying severity. On top of that, Byron Maxwell was getting ready to sign a blockbuster contract with another team, which turned out to be the Eagles.
That left young Marcus Burley as the only healthy cornerback and DeShawn Shead as a largely untested emergency option who had more experience at safety. So, the Seahawks covered themselves by signing two veteran corners — Williams and Will Blackmon. And then they drafted Tye Smith in the fifth round.
Blackmon once again did not make the roster, and Williams struggled so badly that he was benched three weeks ago, made inactive the past two games and released Monday.
Pete Carroll and John Schneider have never been afraid to admit mistakes and move on from them — e.g., Percy Harvin last year — and that’s basically what they did here.
But they did it because they have plenty of talent at the position, and the future is bright.
Continue reading Hawks are no longer desperate at cornerback
While Kam Chancellor has stretched his surprising holdout into the second week of the season, Michael Bennett has been practicing, playing and leading by example.
But he said Thursday that he almost joined Chancellor in holding out. Both players are dissatisfied with deals that pay them $7 million per year. Bennett is being paid $6 million this season, and Chancellor was due $4.55 million but is forfeiting 1/17 of that every week he sits out (plus as much as $2 million in fines).
Bennett said his wife wouldn’t let him hold out.
“I’ve got three kids; I’ve got a wife. My wife wouldn’t let me hold out, so I had to come to work,” he said. “(Kam’s) situation’s different from mine. I respect what he’s doing; he respects what I’m doing. too. I just come back and try to work as hard as I can and show the team the type of leader I am and the type of person I am and what I’m willing to do and how far I’m willing to go playing in the games.”
Continue reading ‘My wife wouldn’t let me hold out,’ Bennett says
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 