As 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?
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.
Continue reading Newton’s deal shows Hawks must pay Wilson at least $30M in 2015
In 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.
Continue reading Rodgers addressed ‘baseball agent’ label and contract concepts
After Ryan Tannehill signed his contract earlier this week, his agent, Pat Dye, said what a lot of others were thinking: “Russell Wilson is going to have his argument that Ryan Tannehill is the starting point for him.”
And then John Schneider apparently called Dye and said, “Congrats. You just cost me a lot of money.”
The Seahawks already were offering more new money overall, according to reports, but the Tannehill deal probably made clear to them that they need to up the ante on guaranteed cash.
Continue reading Tannehill deal proves Hawks need to pay Wilson more up front
If recent reports about Russell Wilson negotiations are true, the Seahawks clearly are not changing the way they do business just because he is a quarterback.
And there apparently are two problems with negotiations: (1) The Hawks are lowballing Wilson on the signing bonus and (2) Wilson’s agent does not know how to view NFL contract extensions.
Based on three recent reports, this is the picture we have: The Seahawks have offered Wilson a four-year deal worth $20 million a year and guaranteeing no more than about $13 million upon signing, but potentially guaranteeing closer to $40 million overall.
Continue reading Looks like two big problems in Wilson talks
Where there’s smoke, there must be fire — unless Drew Rosenhaus and some mirrors are involved.
Jason La Canfora, who has had some recent scoops regarding the Seahawks (Marshawn Lynch’s deal and the drafting of Frank Clark), dropped another one Wednesday when he wrote that Bennett “and his agent have made it clear he’d rather not be back in Seattle.”
This is the second report indicating Bennett wants out — although he and the Seahawks both denied last month that he asked for a trade. He does, however, want his contract beefed up — and that clearly is the crux of the “he wants out” reports, surely propagated by his notorious agent, Rosenhaus.
Don’t expect the Seahawks to fall for his cheap tricks.
John Schneider clearly is trying to smooth Bruce Irvin’s feathers after the Hawks decided not to pick up his 2016 option — perhaps hoping Irvin will be amenable to the kind of deal Whitney Mercilus signed with Houston on Monday.
Schneider told 710 ESPN on Monday that the team had not decided on the option yet, which was an odd thing to say considering Pete Carroll admitted Saturday that they were not going to pick it up and Irvin himself indicated the same with his series of bitter tweets Sunday night.
The Seahawks were not comfortable pursuing Greg Hardy once they learned the details of his domestic-violence case, but they clearly think Frank Clark is another story. And Seahawks fans should trust them — even if some self-righteous media folks want to condemn them.
Too many people fell into the trap of convicting Clark in the court of public opinion and sentencing him to life as a social pariah based on one inflammatory police report. As John Schneider said Friday, you have to look beyond the report to find the real Clark.
On 710 ESPN on Monday, Schneider expanded on the Seahawks’ investigation into Clark’s situation. Schneider said he and two other Seahawks scouts were involved in gathering information, which included talking to people in Los Angeles and Cleveland about the player’s early background, getting information from the court and counselors in Michigan and talking to other teams to see whether they had gotten similar information and viewed him the same way Seattle did. (After the Hawks picked Clark on Friday, Schneider said he got calls from three teams that were poised to grab the pass rusher in the third round.)
Continue reading On Clark: Trust the Seahawks, not the self-righteous media
As we expected, the Seahawks did not pick up the $7.75 million option on Bruce Irvin — at least according to his Twitter rant Sunday night.
Worked for everything I got in my life this shit will b no different! I earns my keeps!
— Bruce Irvin (@BIrvin_WVU11) May 4, 2015
Faced way tougher adversity getting outta them streets coming up! That’s shit is nothing! FUCK THAT OPTION!
— Bruce Irvin (@BIrvin_WVU11) May 4, 2015
I am a Seahawk! #12thman
— Bruce Irvin (@BIrvin_WVU11) May 4, 2015
The Seahawks finished the 2015 draft with eight picks — the fewest they have had under John Schneider. They had never had fewer than nine.
They started with 11, of course, but spent four on Tyler Lockett, a two-time Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year who tied the conference record for kick-return average (28.5) while averaging 15.2 yards per punt return and setting 17 school records as a receiver and returner.
“We wanted a returner in this program so badly,” Pete Carroll said. “John just needed to figure out where we were going to get him, and I am thrilled we got him. He is such a special return guy.”
Lockett was the only playmaker the Hawks added — unless you count Jimmy Graham, which they do.
The pick breakdown this year: 3 OL, 2 DE, 2 DB, 1 WR. It isn’t much different than the five-year trend coming in, as OL, DL and DB have been Schneider’s highest-drafted positions. He now has used 12 picks each on OL and DB and 11 on DL.
“John did a great job again,” Carroll said. “The board came off like we were hoping and so many guys fit some issues that we had, some needs that we had. It was an awesome job.”
