Tag Archives: Michael Bennett

Training camp status report: Defense

August 14, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks open the preseason against the Denver Broncos tonight in Seattle. Here is our breakdown of the defense, what we will be watching in the first game and our updated roster projections:

DEFENSIVE LINE
Veterans: Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Brandon Mebane, Ahtyba Rubin, Jordan Hill, Cassius Marsh, Greg Scruggs, Demarcus Dobbs, D’Anthony Smith, Jesse Williams, David King, Jimmy Staten, Julius Warmsley
Rookies: Frank Clark, Obum Gwacham, T.Y. McGill

Pete Carroll says this defensive front is the fastest he has had in Seattle — clearly a nod to the addition of Clark. The coach was stoked about the unit after the scrimmage last weekend, and he is clearly excited about a pass rush that features Bennett, Avril, Clark, Hill and Bruce Irvin.

The one bummer was the release of Tony McDaniel, who turned out to be the cap casualty over Mebane after the big contracts given to Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner.

Bennett still is unhappy with his contract, and he even told McDaniel he would love to be back in Tampa Bay (he probably saw the Bucs’ salary cap space: $13.7 million).

But Bennett has been mentoring Clark, who is going to be Bennett Jr. this season — an inside-out player.

“I lean on him a lot; he looks out for me a lot,” Clark said of Bennett. “He’s a guy that’s been in the league for a numerous amount of years. He has experience. He’s a great player, as well as Cliff Avril, Big Mebane; they teach me a lot of things, just the proper techniques of how to play NFL football.”

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CHAWK LINES, Training camp

August 12, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Some observations from Day 10 of camp from those who were there (and other features):

Jordan Hill says his quickness inside can be a disadvantage on run plays. Said DC Kris Richard: “We like our guys stopping the run on the way to the quarterback.”

Rookie Keenan Lambert wants to play alongside his half-brother, Kam Chancellor. Of course, Lambert will have to make the team and Chancellor will have to report for that to happen. In the meantime, Chancellor continues to coach up the young safeties.

The Pete Carroll Secondary School is in session, we wrote for Today’s Pigskin.

Marshawn Lynch looks like a happy camper, Gregg Bell reports.

The players are getting tired of practicing against each other, as evidenced by a couple of scuffles.

Michael Bennett helped convince Tony McDaniel to sign with Tampa Bay — and the disgruntled Bennett told McDaniel “he wishes he could come back down here.” McDaniel said he was shocked to be cut, and he confirmed that the Hawks told him it was a salary cap move.

Contracts, State of the team

A tale of two holdouts: Lynch vs. Chancellor

August 7, 2015 cc Leave a comment

For those wondering why the Seahawks don’t just accommodate Kam Chancellor, as they did Marshawn Lynch last year, it is worth pointing out that there are some big differences in their situations.

Lynch had two years left on his contract, and speculation was swirling that the Seahawks might part with him after the 2014 season. So, he just wanted to get some kind of financial commitment out of the Hawks.

The team offered to convert $1 million in game roster bonuses and incentives in 2014 to guaranteed money, along with $500,000 from his 2015 salary. Even as Lynch held out for the first week of training camp, they reportedly did not budge off the original offer from earlier in the offseason. And they also had threatened to follow through on their right to fine him if he did not report after the first week.

Lynch basically got a $500,000 bump last season — but it came from the 2015 salary. Of course, he ended up signing a new three-year deal this offseason anyway.

There is much less wiggle room for Chancellor.

Continue reading A tale of two holdouts: Lynch vs. Chancellor →

Contracts, State of the team

Wilson & Wagner are signed; who else can Hawks keep?

August 3, 2015 cc Leave a comment

With Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner signed, the Seahawks can check off their two biggest 2016 free agents.

But what does it mean for the others?

The official numbers for Wagner’s deal are in, and the Hawks are looking at about $14 million in space under a projected $150 million salary cap next year.

With Wilson and Wagner signed and Tony McDaniel released, their key UFAs in 2016 — barring any other extensions — will be Russell Okung, J.R. Sweezy, Bruce Irvin, Brandon Mebane, Ahtyba Rubin, Jermaine Kearse and Jon Ryan. They can’t keep all of those guys for $14 million.

“It is so challenging to do this,” Pete Carroll said, “and particularly as it (the salary cap) changes and you don’t know and you have to predict. … This is a big year now (for Seattle free agents); we don’t know what’s going to happen with the cap. We’ll wait and see.”

Continue reading Wilson & Wagner are signed; who else can Hawks keep? →

Contracts, State of the team, The roster

Hawks had to cut someone; now, what about Chancellor?

August 3, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Once the Seahawks signed Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner to their megadeals, it was obvious someone probably was going to get cut.

While Brandon Mebane (and his $5.5 million salary) had been the rumored candidate for months, it turned out to be Tony McDaniel, whose release added $3 million to the $2 million or so the Hawks had left under this year’s cap. They typically like to have at least $4 million in reserve for practice squad and injury replacements during the season.

Pete Carroll was not happy to lose the 30-year-old McDaniel, who had been a key member of Seattle’s top-seven run defense in each of the past two Super Bowl seasons.

“It is a significant loss,” Carroll said. “Tony has been a really good core player for us, and we really liked him and what he’s brought to our club. This decision sucks, but you know we had to do something. Maybe there’s a chance we can get him back someday; I don’t know how that will work. Unfortunately, that’s what had to happen today.”

It weakens the depth on a defensive line that had looked pretty stout, especially at tackle, and means Mebane and Ahtyba Rubin will have to carry the weight as the run stoppers.

The next immediate roster concern is holdout safety Kam Chancellor.

Continue reading Hawks had to cut someone; now, what about Chancellor? →

Contracts, State of the team

Can the Hawks really please them all?

August 1, 2015 cc Leave a comment

One down. Three to go?

The Seahawks got Russell Wilson signed just in time, but Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor and Michael Bennett all are unhappy and showing it in different ways.

It’s funny how back-to-back Super Bowls can make people feel entitled — all three of those guys are signed, Chancellor and Bennett very recently, but they all feel like they deserve more than they agreed to.

Basically, they are flipping the script — knowing NFL teams can cut them at any time and trying to use the power of their all-star play as leverage before they lose it. Pete Carroll understands.

“They’re trying to make the most of their opportunity and trying to figure out what’s best for them,” he said after the Hawks finished their first practice Friday. “They’re difficult decisions, and they’re hard for them.

“Sometimes when they sign, they love what they sign, and it just looks different after a while,” Carroll said, referencing how contracts quickly become undervalued in the constantly growing NFL economy. “I’m compassionate towards these guys.”

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Contracts, State of the team

Moon: Wilson doesn’t want ‘obsolete’ deal

July 30, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Russell Wilson is trying to avoid the situation Michael Bennett and Kam Chancellor find themselves in, but that’s not how the NFL marketplace works — and that’s why no deal is likely.

As the presumed deadline (Friday) for a deal rapidly approaches, Warren Moon said Wilson and his agent, Mark Rodgers, actually are negotiating based on the future market for quarterbacks.

So, instead of trying to beat Aaron Rodgers’ $22 million a year and $54 million guaranteed, they are trying to get ahead of the market so they can avoid getting trumped next year by Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, et al.

“I don’t think Russell necessarily wants to be the highest paid in the league,” Moon told SI.com. “He understands where the QB market is going. If Russell was able to get $22 million right now, there are going to be four or five guys who leapfrog him. He just wants to stay in suit with the guys at the top. He doesn’t want to sign a deal that becomes obsolete.”

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Contracts, State of the team

Why Chancellor is unhappy — and why it doesn’t matter

July 29, 2015 cc Leave a comment

It probably should be no surprise that Kam Chancellor reportedly has joined the chorus of Seahawks wanting more money, but John Schneider has to be simultaneously laughing and crying over yet another request for a raise.

As if Schneider and contract dealer Matt Thomas don’t have enough going on …

So, why is Chancellor unhappy? Since he signed his four-year, $28 million deal in 2013, four safeties have come along and trumped his $7 million annual average. That includes his own Legion of Boom sidekick, Earl Thomas, who makes $10 million a year.

Chancellor has gone from fourth in annual value among safeties to eighth, with Devin McCourty ($9.5 million), Jairus Byrd ($9 million), Eric Berry ($8.34 million), Dashon Goldson ($8.25 million), Eric Weddle ($8 million) and Reshad Jones (just over $7 million) trumping him.

Like Michael Bennett, Chancellor apparently is upset that his deal has been surpassed by the market. And, like Bennett, Chancellor must know that is how it works and there is almost no chance the Hawks are going to adjust his deal this year.

Continue reading Why Chancellor is unhappy — and why it doesn’t matter →

Contracts, Fun & games, It's bigger than football

Bennett, Wilson and Lynch talk contracts and much more

June 30, 2015 cc Leave a comment

It’s vacation time for the NFL, but on Monday the Seahawks hogged the sports spotlight as three of their top players talked about their contract situations and more.

While Michael Bennett babbled more nonsense about holding out, Russell Wilson made it clear he will show up no matter how much he is making. And then Marshawn Lynch finished the day with another hilarious appearance on “Conan,” saying (among other things) the $12 million the Hawks are paying him this year was a good reason to put off retirement.

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CHAWK LINES

June 28, 2015 cc Leave a comment

CHAWK LINES -- Week in review

Bob Condotta recapped the Week in Russell Wilson Reports.

Michael Bennett, who lives in Hawaii in the offseason, says he might hold out for an upgraded deal: “I don’t mind staying home for a little while.” It’s an empty threat, and he knows it.

Cliff Avril said contract stuff won’t affect how the Seahawks come together on the field.

Danny Kelly of Field Gulls put together a nice piece on the Seahawks’ focus on “sleep as a weapon.” This dovetails with an old Vince Lombardi quote that Jimmy Johnson loved to repeat: “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”

Frank Clark was at the rookie symposium, where he hopefully learned a few lessons on how to stay out of trouble. He said he is not dwelling on the past and is looking forward to finding his role with the Hawks.

Rob Rang wondered whether the Seahawks might be interested in intriguing, though slightly troubled, left tackle Isaiah Battle in the supplemental draft. Probably would require a third-round pick.

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