Hawks address CB depth, other roster spots

March 9, 2015 cc Leave a comment

A day before free agency, the Seahawks took care of several roster questions — adding two cornerbacks and keeping two of their own pending free agents — while also learning James Carpenter probably will join Byron Maxwell on the way out of town.

The additions of 30-year-old cornerbacks Will Blackmon and Cary Williams address the major depth problem the Hawks face at that position — Maxwell leaving, Jeremy Lane dealing with a broken wrist and torn ACL, Richard Sherman healing up a torn ligament in his elbow and Tharold Simon apparently recovering from shoulder surgery.

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Free agency

Is Browner an option to replace Maxwell? Plus, other free-agency notes

March 9, 2015 cc Leave a comment

With Byron Maxwell headed to Philadelphia, the Seahawks are looking around for cornerbacks.

They could end up basically swapping cornerbacks with the Eagles — already having visited with former Philly corner Cary Williams. They could sign a Green Bay cornerback. And they could bring back an old friend.

That latter is not a reference to Walter Thurmond, whom many want the Hawks to re-sign. It is a takeaway from a Boston Herald report that the Patriots might let Brandon Browner go. They are allowing him to “explore his value around the league” before a $2 million roster bonus is due Tuesday.

Would the Seahawks want the 30-year-old corner back? They would have to be comfortable with the idea that he is in the league’s drug program and is still among the most penalized players in the NFL.

We’d pass, but it’s worth mentioning.

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Contracts, Free agency

Overpaid Maxwell might not last long in Philly

March 9, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Byron Maxwell owes Pete Carroll and Kris Richard a big vacation. Without those guys, he never would have become a $10 million player.

His looming deal with the Eagles, reportedly $60 million over six years and guaranteeing $25 million, is not far off the deal Richard Sherman signed last year: five years, $57.4 million with $40 million guaranteed. That’s the kind of overpayment free agency breeds.

The Hawks apparently tried to retain him, surprisingly offering as much as $8 million a year, but what chance did they have at that rate?

Seahawks fans are ruing the loss, but why? The Pete Carroll Secondary School made Maxwell, and they will make another guy just like him. Carroll is the key to Seattle’s secondary. Maxwell was just a cog.

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CHAWK LINES

March 7, 2015 cc Leave a comment

What else is new? Marshawn Lynch dominated the news this week.

First, he talked to Turkish TV about the last play of the Super Bowl, which prompted Warren Moon to say Lynch’s MVP comments stemmed from the fact that he “just doesn’t trust a lot of people.”

Robert Turbin said he didn’t buy into the conspiracy talk surrounding the final play.

Then, on Friday, Lynch signed an extension with the Hawks, who also released Zach Miller and tendered restricted free agent Jermaine Kearse at the second-round level.

Lynch’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, talked about how the deal came together and answered other questions about his client.

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Contracts, Free agency

Here’s a plan that adds Julius, Tramon & Paea

March 7, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Now that the
Seahawks have
Marshawn Lynch locked up, they can get to work on the rest of their spring home improvement projects.

They basically broke even with the salary cap on Friday, with Lynch’s cap number remaining the same and Jermaine Kearse taking up the same $2.4 million slot that Zach Miller vacated. So, the Hawks still have around $24 million to work with as free agency ramps up this weekend and begins Tuesday.

That’s plenty of money for the Hawks to sign tight end Julius Thomas at $8 million a year ($6 million cap hit in 2015), defensive tackle Stephen Paea at $6 million a year ($3.5 million in 2015) and cornerback Tramon Williams at $5 million a year ($3.7 million in 2015).

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Contracts, State of the team

Lynch’s agent discusses the deal and his client

March 6, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Doug Hendrickson, the agent for Marshawn Lynch, said the running back never wanted to leave Seattle and has not mentioned retirement to him, and Seahawks general manager John Schneider pushed a contract extension hard starting the day after the Super Bowl.

Talking to KJR Radio about Lynch’s three-year, $31 million contract, Hendrickson said Lynch was Seattle’s first priority and Schneider called him the day after the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl — by not running Lynch at the goal line — and started talking about getting Lynch’s deal extended.

“They wanted to get it done, and they wanted to get it done fast,” Hendrickson said.

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Contracts, Free agency, The roster

Lynch deal overshadows the bad news

March 6, 2015 cc Leave a comment

It was a good news-bad news day for the Seahawks.

The release of Zach Miller and double dose of bad news from the Bears-Jets trade Friday was trumped by the great news that Marshawn Lynch is set to return for another season.

After various reports had him making $11 million for one year, $24 million for two years or $31 million for three years, it appears the latter is correct. He will get $12 million in 2015, up from his scheduled $7 million. His cap hit will remain the same, though, at $8.5 million, because he will get $4.5 million in salary and $7.5 million in a signing bonus (he had $1.5 million in bonus proration from his previous deal).

He is signed through 2017, if he chooses to return. He would make $9 million in 2016, counting $11.5 million. He would make $10 million in 2017, including a $3 million roster bonus, and count $12.5 million. If he retires after 2015, the Hawks would take a $5 million cap hit in dead money next year.

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Contracts, Free agency, The roster

What will Hawks do in free agency? Check out the last three years

March 5, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Over the past three years, we have gotten a good idea of how John Schneider leads the Seahawks in free agency.

Outside of the big blockbuster deal for Percy Harvin in 2013, Schneider typically has moved at a measured pace in March — making as many roster deletions as additions and signing only mid-priced free agents.

It should be more of the same this month.

Schneider said it himself at the Combine last month: “We are going to keep doing things the way we started here: Just keep drafting people and playing young people and trying to keep the players that we can keep, try to identify the players that we have to reward and make those tough decisions about players that are under contract that you may have to let go to create some cap room. Those are just tough decisions as you go. We are not going to change anything we do.”

So what have they done the last three years?

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Free agency, The roster

Hawks on the hunt for veteran corner

March 4, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks apparently are willing to spend some money on a second starting cornerback this year.

It’s not a surprise considering their injuries and lack of depth at the position.

According to 710 ESPN, the Hawks are willing to pay Byron Maxwell up to $6.5 million — not that it will be enough, but it might indicate what they are willing to pay in general.

They reportedly are showing interest in veteran corners Cary Williams and Tramon Williams.

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State of the team, Super Bowl XLIX

Conspiracy talk aside, all signs point to Lynch returning

March 2, 2015 cc Leave a comment

It has been exactly a month since the Super Bowl debacle, and we still don’t know for sure whether Marshawn Lynch will return in 2015 for his sixth season with the Seahawks.

But the signs all seem to indicate he will — even if he apparently thinks Pete Carroll and Darrell Bevell tried to sabotage Lynch’s MVP chances by not handing him the ball on the Seahawks’ final offensive play.

While in Istanbul for American Football Without Barriers, Lynch said he expected and wanted the ball on the final play but had no problem with the fact that he didn’t get it, even though he vaguely referenced the conspiracy theory that arose immediately after the game (probably started by him).

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