CHAWK LINES
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CHAWK LINES -- Week in review

While not working out with teammates in Seattle, Bruce Irvin apparently still would like to play in Seattle past this year.

John Clayton thinks Russell Wilson will sign a four-year deal worth up to $87 million, with up to $49 million guaranteed, by the time training camp starts in late July.

Contract analyst Joel Corry thinks the Hawks could get away with a $25 million signing bonus for Wilson. Seems light, considering they need to pay him at least $31 million this year. (Just mute the video of that goober Doug Gottlieb.)

Tom Cable and Rocky Seto got very detailed at the Seahawks Town Hall on Wednesday, discussing O-line technique and the Hawk tackle.

Kam Chancellor talked about the effect his knee injury had on him in the Super Bowl and how happy he is he didn’t have to undergo any kind of surgery this offseason.

Jimmy Graham talked to Clayton about his excitement to be playing with Wilson and the Hawks. In a little revisionist history, the high-scoring tight end joked the red zone was named after him due to his red hair.

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Contracts, State of the team

Irvin now says he wants to stay in Seattle

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Bruce Irvin has not been present at Seattle’s OTAs, but he says he would like to stay in Seattle after next season and he has been working hard and plans to have his best season yet.

“I have one year left. I would love to be in Seattle,” he told NFL Media on Saturday. “That was the team that gave me a chance when nobody else did. A lot of people told me I wasn’t a first-round pick, but Pete (Carroll) and John Schneider took a chance on me; so, like I said, I would love to be there.”

That comment runs counter to his statement last month that he would be in Atlanta next season. Pete Carroll tried to quash that story, but it seemed pretty obvious that Irvin meant he would like to play in his hometown.

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Contracts, State of the team

Wilson & Wagner are in, Bennett & Irvin are not

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I'm in

I’M IN.

It’s one of the Seahawks’ mantras. And clearly not everyone is buying in completely.

Offseason team workouts don’t offer too much football value — they’re like glorified walk-throughs — but they are a great vehicle for seeing who is committed to the team and who isn’t.

Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner certainly are. Michael Bennett and Bruce Irvin are a different story.

All of them have contract concerns. Wilson and Wagner are entering the final year of their deals, but neither is complaining that he doesn’t have a deal yet; Wilson is leading the offense in workouts and Wagner is right in there with his higher-paid defensive teammates.

Meanwhile, Bennett and Irvin are pouting about their contracts, boycotting voluntary work with the rest of the team.

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OTAs, State of the team

Wilson and Graham have been bonding since trade

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Wilson and GrahamRussell Wilson and Jimmy Graham already seem to have formed an unbreakable bond. And the season doesn’t start for another three months.

Graham apparently caught a bunch of so-called touchdowns in red zone practice on Tuesday, highlighting the area where he might be most effective for the Seahawks (who, as we all know, prefer to throw from the 1-yard line).

Wilson and Graham started building their chemistry immediately after the trade that brought Graham and a fourth-rounder from New Orleans in exchange for Max Unger and Seattle’s first-round pick.

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Contracts, The roster

Is Wilson necessary? And would he hold out?

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Lynch and Wilson trophyAs we wait to see how Russell Wilson’s contract negotiations play out, some are asking whether Wilson is even necessary to the Seahawks and others are wondering whether he might put the Hawks in a bind by holding out.

Some argue the Seahawks could have reached the Super Bowl the past two years with almost any quarterback. Others vehemently disagree.

Neither group is completely right. And the argument is largely irrelevant anyway.

Continue reading Is Wilson necessary? And would he hold out? →

Contracts

Newton’s deal shows Hawks must pay Wilson at least $30M in 2015

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Carolina QB Cam Newton congratulates Russell Wilson after the Seahawks won the season opener on Sept. 8, 2013 (Getty Images)Last week, Russell Wilson’s agent said he would meet again soon with Matt Thomas, the Seahawks’ lead contract negotiator, and discuss new ideas and information as they work on a contract extension.

They should now have all of the information they need after Carolina gave Cam Newton a five-year extension reportedly worth $103.8 million, including $31 million guaranteed in 2015 and a record $67.6 million being paid in the next three years ($60 million of it at least partly guaranteed).

If John Schneider thought Ryan Tannehill’s deal cost the Seahawks at the bargaining table, he’ll hate seeing Newton’s numbers. But that’s the way it goes in the big-money world of franchise quarterbacks, and Schneider and Thomas should have been prepared for that.

Agent Mark Rodgers might argue Wilson is worth more than Newton, but the fact is Newton’s financial numbers are where Wilson and the Seahawks are going to have to end up — the middle ground from where both sides would prefer to be.

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CHAWK LINES
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CHAWK LINES -- Week in review

Holdout Michael Bennett said he wants to be paid like the top seven players at his position, which would mean $10 million a year.

Russell Wilson’s agent, Mark Rodgers, talked to 710 ESPN about contract negotiations.

Danny Kelly of Field Gulls wrote about the detailed technique Pete Carroll’s staff teaches cornerbacks. As we wrote a couple of years ago, the Pete Carroll Secondary School has been in session for 30 years.

Cary Williams appears to fit right in with the Legion of Boom. The Hawks think the 30-year-old’s best football will come in Seattle.

Field Gulls rounded up some radio interviews by Jordan Hill, Luke Willson and Jermaine Kearse.

K.J. Wright talked to 710 ESPN about new LBs coach Lofa Tatupu and new DC Kris Richard (recall that both of those guys played for Carroll at USC).

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” fan Bobby Wagner was voted by NFL peers as the 69th best player in the league, per NFL Network. Michael Bennett was No. 90. Six other Seahawks will be listed higher.

Kam Chancellor and Carroll think the Hawks are Super focused in the wake of the crushing end to last season.

Matt Bowen and Chris Simms of Bleacher Report look at Jimmy Graham and Tyler Lockett — Seattle’s two awesome new weapons.

Wilson was a guest speaker at Rodgers’ daughter’s graduation.

Contracts

Rodgers addressed ‘baseball agent’ label and contract concepts

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Wilson and the RodgersIn his interview with Brock and Salk on 710 ESPN yesterday, Mark Rodgers left Seahawks fans feeling pretty optimistic about the chances of him and the team striking a deal for Russell Wilson at some point.

Brady Henderson and Bob Condotta both transcribed the interview, offering up key points such as (1) the sides feel no pressure to get a deal done, (2) Wilson would be fine playing out his rookie deal at $1.54 million in 2015, (3) the sides have had positive talks and made progress and (4) Wilson hopes to remain in Seattle for a long time.

Not covered in those recitals of the interview were two related concerns regarding Rodgers and his inexperience in negotiating a major NFL contract.

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Contracts

Is Wilson close to a deal? His agent will talk

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Wilson and the RodgersThere has been a lot of handwringing over Russell Wilson’s future with the Seahawks, amid reports that the Hawks are lowballing him and the sides are millions of dollars apart.

But, according to Rob Rang, Wilson and the Hawks “are closer to an extension than some believe.” Pete Carroll did not go that far, but he said Tuesday, “The communication has been great.”

On Thursday, Wilson’s agent, Mark Rodgers, will talk to 710 ESPN — although it remains to be seen whether he offers any details on negotiations.

Continue reading Is Wilson close to a deal? His agent will talk →

Injury report, OTAs, State of the team

Chancellor having his best offseason; Carroll updates other injuries

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Seahawks bandagesThe Seahawks were on the field Tuesday for the first time since the Super Bowl, and we got updates on several injured players.

Kam Chancellor — who dealt with injuries to his ankles, hip and knee last season — said this has been his best offseason since he entered the NFL in 2010.

“This is my first offseason training without surgeries and I just feel a whole lot stronger at this point,” he said, adding that he knew his sprained MCL suffered right before the Super Bowl would not require surgery. “I knew I wasn’t getting surgery, because I had done it once before in college, and I knew it would heal again. And through prayer and drinking right, eating right and getting the proper amount of sleep, it just healed fast.”

As for players coming off surgeries, Robert Turbin (hip) and Brandon Mebane (hamstring) seem most likely to make it back for the start of training camp, while Earl Thomas (shoulder), Jeremy Lane (ACL and arm) and Paul Richardson (ACL) appear questionable.

Continue reading Chancellor having his best offseason; Carroll updates other injuries →