Tag Archives: Michael Bennett

The roster, Trades

Bye-bye, Bennett

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Bennett thumbs-upFifteen months after giving Michael Bennett a new contract, the Seahawks are going to trade him.

Why? Not because his play has dropped off, obviously. More likely because they want to get younger and “quieter” in the locker room.

Seattle didn’t get much for the Pro Bowl end — a fifth and fast, young receiver Marcus Johnson (while flipping a seventh to Philadelphia as well). One report indicated the Patriots tried to offer a third for Bennett and a fifth, but it sounds like the Seahawks had a deal with the Eagles before the Patriots came along and the Seahawks didn’t want to renege on the Eagles.

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Franchise history, Free agency

As expected, Schneider is letting Sheldon go

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franchise-tagNo surprise: John Schneider didn’t want to gamble with the franchise tag.

Five teams use the keeper tool (and Chicago used the transition tag), but Seattle declined for the eighth straight year — choosing not to lock in Sheldon Richardson.

Schneider will try to re-sign the defensive tackle before free agency, but he obviously was leery of tendering Richardson for $13.9 million — and thus setting the negotiating floor there. And Schneider obviously wasn’t interested in the other potential benefits of tagging, which we outlined.

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Free agency, Trades

Schneider should tag Sheldon today

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Logo -- Free agencyJohn Schneider has been a gambling man plenty of times in the past, and here’s a gamble he really needs to make today: Use the franchise tag on Sheldon Richardson.

Schneider has a base 75 percent chance of winning a tag gamble. The only negative would come if Richardson insisted on signing and playing on the $13.9 million tender. That seems very unlikely, which leaves three winning scenarios for Schneider: (1) Strike a long-term deal, (2) trade him for a Day 2 pick (and something else), (3) rescind the tag, let Richardson leave in free agency and end up with a high comp pick in 2019.

At the Combine last Friday, Schneider said he needed to “figure out how to compensate” for Seattle’s gaping hole on Day 2 of the draft. Trading 32-year-old Michael Bennett won’t do it. But tagging Richardson likely would — whether he stays or goes.

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NFL Combine, The roster, Trades

Schneider: ‘We are just open to anything’

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Schneider at combine“We’re going to be in every deal. … You don’t want to miss any opportunity.” — John Schneider

John Schneider is using every element of the Combine to try to improve his Seahawks this weekend. That includes soliciting offers from teams on some of his veteran stars.

“Part of our challenge right now … is sustaining our level of success that we’ve had,” Schneider said. “And we are just open to anything.”

The Seahawks are shopping Michael Bennett, and some expect Earl Thomas to be traded as well (Schneider met with his reps Thursday night).

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NFL Combine, Trades

Possible destinations for Bennett in a trade

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Bennett thanks the football godsAt this point, it seems pretty clear that the Seahawks are going to part ways with Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Bennett — a stalwart of the best era in team history.

John Schneider reportedly is shopping Bennett at the Combine, apparently set on trying to get something for the 32-year-old while he still has some value — and before the Seahawks have to pay a $3 million roster bonus March 18.

Why would any team trade for him? Because he can still play — as his 8.5 sacks in 2017 amid a serious foot injury can attest. He also would be a cheap pickup this year, costing a team just $5.65 million. His salaries are just $6 million in 2019 and $7.5 million in 2020 — and any acquiring team can get out with no cap ramifications.

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Free agency, NFL Combine

Carroll talks Thomas, trades, tag and more

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Combine logo“Everybody’s talking to everybody” — Pete Carroll

That about sums up the state of affairs at the Combine, although Carroll was talking specifically about Earl Thomas there.

Carroll revealed very little about Seattle’s direction with contracts, trades and free agents, but he offered a few little nuggets.

Among the tidbits: He has talked to Thomas; John Schneider is talking to other teams about possible deals; the franchise tag is still an option for Sheldon Richardson; the team has talked to DeShawn Shead about playing safety again; Carroll has not talked to Michael Bennett; and Carroll would love to keep Jimmy Graham (and every free agent).

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State of the team, The roster

Should Hawks blow up the boom all at once?

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Kam and Bennett“Right now it is kind of in the air; but, trust me, the Legion of Boom will never go away.” — Shaquill Griffin.

BOOM!

That’s the sound of Seattle’s defense being blown up by many media and fans over the past month.

It’s the end of an era, they say. It’s time to take the broom to the Legion of Boom and sweep out the “old” guard, tossing out Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas along with presumed goners Kam Chancellor (on the field, if not on the roster) and Cliff Avril. Some oddly would even throw K.J. Wright in there, leaving only Bobby Wagner from the Super Bowl champion defense.

For those folks, the new core would be Wagner and youngsters Frank Clark, Jarran Reed, Nazair Jones and Shaquill Griffin — plus whoever John Schneider gets to replace Bennett, Sherman, Thomas, Chancellor, Avril and Wright.

There is no argument that the Seahawks are entering a period of transition. The big debate, though, is: How long should it take?

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Contracts, Franchise history, The roster

Will Schneider pay to end Curse of Hutch?

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Salary cap logoAs former Seahawk Steve Hutchinson waits for the Hall of Fame to come knocking this weekend, it is a reminder of what the Seahawks once had — and what they need to build again.

The big question some fans have: Will John Schneider do what Tim Ruskell would not and pay an All-Pro guard?

As longtime fans (pre-“12s”) will recall, Ruskell (Seattle’s GM before Schneider) chose not to franchise the All-Pro Hutchinson in 2006 and ended up losing him to Minnesota.

Hutch and Hall of Famer Walter Jones keyed the best line in Seattle history in the early to mid-2000s, but Seattle has not been able to field a strong line since Ruskell’s huge mistake. We’ve called it the Curse of Hutch.

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NFL draft

Hawks eye linemen

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NFL draftNo matter what the Seahawks do before or during free agency, their top needs in this draft will be their lines.

They need to replace Cliff Avril and, eventually, Michael Bennett on the defensive front. And they need to add a good guard to an offensive line that now has a coach who should get the most out of the talent.

So, it figures that two guys the Hawks reportedly showed high interest in during Senior Bowl week were versatile linemen: Nevada blocker Austin Corbett and Alabama defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand.

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Contracts, Free agency, The roster

Avril teases about return, but what if he can come back?

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Salary cap logoCliff Avril has been teasing Seahawks fans with some wishful thinking for his return from a serious neck injury.

For the second time this month, Avril hinted that he might return to play.

“I believe so,” Avril told NFL Network on Monday. “Right now it’s all about recovery. I had surgery. I’m in the process of recovering. It’s a long process, a long journey. When I get to the end of that, then I’ll figure out what’s next.

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