Tag Archives: Russell Okung

August 2, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Some observations from Day 3 of camp from those who were there:

In the wake of the big deals signed by Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, someone was going to have to go to give the Hawks a little more cap space for this season — they were around $2 million and need to be around $4 million. Rather than cut Brandon Mebane, as had been rumored for months, the Seahawks released fellow defensive tackle Tony McDaniel instead. The move adds $3 million to Seattle’s cap, giving them comfort for the season.

The Hawks — short on cornerbacks with Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon out — also acquired Mohammed Seisay from the Detroit Lions for a 2016 sixth-round pick.

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Contracts, State of the team

Okung knows his worth, but what is it?

July 20, 2015 cc Leave a comment

As if the Seahawks didn’t already have enough odd contract situations, Russell Okung has added another one.

Russell Wilson’s marathon negotiations have received the most attention, as the quarterback reportedly seeks to be the highest-paid player in the game. On top of that, Michael Bennett has been grouching about his deal, just one year after signing it; Bruce Irvin bitched about not having his 2016 option picked up and talked about playing in Atlanta next year; and the Hawks also are talking with Bobby Wagner about a contract that could end up making him the highest-paid middle linebacker in the NFL.

Now we can add to that cauldron of contract conundrums the news that Okung plans to represent himself. As part of what he eloquently wrote on The Players’ Tribune, he said: “Before I became a free agent, I decided to free my agent.”

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Contracts, State of the team

How tagging Wilson would affect the roster

June 25, 2015 cc Leave a comment

If the Seahawks end up using the franchise tag on Russell Wilson in 2016, as it currently appears they might, it most likely would mean the end of the Seattle tenures of Russell Okung and Bruce Irvin.

Irvin knows that and doesn’t really care, even if he said last week that he wants to stay in Seattle. He clearly would be just as happy playing in his hometown of Atlanta. And he knows the Hawks have only so much money to go around.

“They’ve got a lot of people to take care of,” he said. “You’ve got Bobby Wagner, who deserves his money, and Russell, who deserves his money. Like I said, it’s a business and that stuff will work itself out.”

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Contracts

Mercilus deal sets market for Irvin

May 5, 2015 cc Leave a comment

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.

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Contracts, The roster

Hawks aren’t sure Irvin is worth $7.75 million

April 24, 2015 cc Leave a comment

As expected, the Seahawks are not sure Bruce Irvin is worth $7.75 million.

That much is clear after John Schneider said Wednesday that they have not decided whether to pick up the 2016 option on the 2012 first-round player.

“Those options can be tricky,” the GM said. “That’s all I can get into right now.”

He might not want to get into it, but his meaning is clear: Picking up the option would set a baseline for any future contract negotiations while also forcing the Hawks to take a certain direction with their 2016 salary cap.

It’s hard to see the Hawks exercising the option when they don’t know what Russell Wilson’s contract will look like in 2016 and might not have decided what they are doing with Russell Okung.

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NFL draft

What if preferred OL & WR are gone by No. 63?

April 13, 2015 cc Leave a comment

DRAFT COUNTDOWN: Under three weeks. A weekly look at draft-related topics involving the Seahawks.

A year ago, word was the Seahawks were hoping to draft a couple of offensive tackles because they needed to replace right tackle Breno Giacomini and weren’t sure they would keep left tackle Russell Okung when his contract is up after the 2015 season.

At the time, Okung was recuperating from foot surgery after missing half the 2013 season, and the Hawks did indeed draft two linemen: Justin Britt, who started at right tackle all season, and Garrett Scott, whose NFL career ended before it started due to a heart condition.

A year later, the Seahawks are looking at linemen more than ever — needing to replace Max Unger and James Carpenter and perhaps prepare to replace Okung.

But when will they take them?

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Contracts, The roster

Irvin or Okung? That is probably the question

April 8, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Do the Seahawks prefer Russell Okung or Bruce Irvin? Because — barring Marshawn Lynch retiring in 2016 — that is probably the choice they are going to have to make. By May 3.

The San Diego Chargers reportedly picked up the fifth-year option on linebacker Melvin Ingram on Tuesday, which raised the question of whether the Seahawks will do the same with Irvin by the May 3 deadline.

The smart money says no — unless the Hawks have decided they don’t want to re-sign Okung.

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Contracts

Carroll: No reports on Wilson deal are correct

March 26, 2015 cc Leave a comment

If Pete Carroll is to be taken at his absolute word, we can infer three things about Russell Wilson’s contract extension:

1 — It is not close to being finished.

2 — Wilson will not play out his rookie contract.

3 — His deal will not be fully guaranteed.

At the owners meetings on Wednesday, Carroll basically shot down all reports about Wilson talks, saying, “There are no big claims about what we are doing that have been made that are accurate.’’

That clearly was directed at ESPN, which reported last week that the sides were close to a deal, and at CBS, which reported this week that talks “have gone nowhere” and Wilson probably would play out the final year of his rookie contract. It also might have been a refutation of speculation that the Hawks will guarantee all of Wilson’s contract.

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Contracts, Free agency, NFL draft, The roster

Schneider talks Wilson, Mebane & more

March 24, 2015 cc Leave a comment

At the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix on Monday, John Schneider shed some light on a few Seahawk mysteries, courtesy of Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. A quick review:

With Phase 2 of free agency nearly complete, the Hawks will pick up negotiations with Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner soon.

“Things are calming down a little bit, if you will, on the unrestricted front,” Schneider said, “so we are hoping to get with those guys and their representatives fairly soon.”

That basically shoots down the ESPN radio report from Friday that the Hawks are close to a deal with Wilson and is more in line with the report by Jason La Canfora of CBS that “talks between Wilson and the Seahawks have gone nowhere.”

According to La Canfora, “no real progress” has been made and sources say the quarterback is preparing as if he might have to play out his rookie contract, which will pay him $1.54 million in 2015.

La Canfora has suggested that Wilson might play out his rookie deal and potentially end up getting the franchise tag in 2016. That seems highly doubtful. Much more likely is the Hawks aim for a draft-week deadline, as they did with Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman last year.

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Contracts, Free agency

Hawks need cap space: How can they make some?

March 11, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Unless the Seahawks alter Jimmy Graham’s contract, they have about $15 million in cap space. But they will need to earmark about $5 million of that for rookie bonuses, practice squad players and injury replacements next season, and they probably will need about $8 million in additional cap space for the extensions for Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner.

With free-agent needs on both lines and possibly at receiver and backup quarterback, basic math tells us the Hawks need to create some space at some point. How can they do that?

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