Seahawks can now begin contract talk with 2011 draft class

[HawksSoc]

I really HATE the salary cap. Especially when we have a filthy rich owner that we sure could have used before the damn cap came along. Crap, this sucks.....

While I agree we'd have one of the biggest payrolls in the league with no cap, I think the NFL is the greatest league in sports because of the combo of no guaranteed contracts AND cap............which equals parity. No other league can promise you that you're terrible 2-14 team has a chance the next year of winning a Super Bowl.

Agreed. Its one of the many great things about it. Ireland is saturated with soccer news from the Premier League, and seeing clubs pony up millions of dollars just for the right to give a player a bonkers contract always irked me, its just dumb.

 

[ceej22]

12/30/13: Earliest permissible date for clubs to renegotiate or extend the rookie contract of a drafted rookie who was selected in any round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Any permissible renegotiated or extended player contract will not be considered a rookie contract, and will not be subject to the rules that limit rookie contracts.

James Carpenter
2014: $1.4m base, $2.4m cap hit

KJ Wright
2014: $645k base, $766k cap hit

Richard Sherman
2014: $645k base, $690k cap hit

Byron Maxwell
2014: $645k base, $670k cap hit

Malcolm Smith
2014: $645k base, $655k cap hit

Wright, Sherman, Maxwell and Smith all look like great candidates for extensions.

Looking at that list reminds me of how good that draft turned out to be. Except for Carpenter, imo.

The only way, in my completely amateur opinion, I can see re-signing all of them to fair market contracts would be to:

- Cut Rice
- Restructure Miller's contract
- Restructure Red's contract
- Do not sign either BB or Thurmond
- Let a couple of the D-Line guys walk
- Let Carpenter or McQuistan walk

I don't like any of those options. And we haven't even looked at what needs to get done to keep Tate and Baldwin too.

Ouch.

- Yes ($7.3 mill freed cap space)
- No, have to cut him this year ($5 mill freed cap space) or demand a huge pay cut. Restructuring means pushing his salary off costing team down the road. Only reason to do that is if team is old and window is about to shut faster than ATL.
- No, see Miller. Probably have to cut him as well after 2014 season or this year. It's either him or Mebane.
- BB isn't getting signed. He can't even play until next December. Thurmond will be cheap relative to his talent. Injury prone and when he finally gets healthy suspension. That said I don't know that he is worthy of this team. Especially with how well Carroll is at picking DBs.
- Yup. Bye bye Bennett....or cut Clemons ($7.5 mill freed cap space) and sign Bennett for less. Or cut Avril and keep the other two. But I think Seattle goes younger.
- Both of them gone. But let's be real here they are replaceable.

How do you not like the cutting Rice option? When was the last season he had that was worth $7.3 mill? I'll give you a hint it wasn't with the Seahawks. Miller for $5 mill...if it means keeping our elite players I'll take the risk. Clemons is 33 next October. Keep him or Bennett?

Don't over estimate Tate and Baldwin. They will be lucky to get $5 mill/yr and if they do let them take it. Maybe consider paying Tate something around that number but not Baldwin considering we will get draft pick/s to compensate since he is a RFA.

 

[morgulon1]

Mark my words, Sherman is gone. Probably end up with 100 million from Washington or Dallas.

What I was thinking

 

[seedhawk]

I could be all wet here but, I do not think other teams will be all that hot and bothered to sign away quite a few of our contributors. Name the guys who used to be here that are doing well for another team at this time. Pete and John sign these misfit parts, and plug them in to a unique scheme that helps the player succeed. Put that same player on another team in a different scheme and he is again a misfit.

 

[Dreo]

12/30/13: Earliest permissible date for clubs to renegotiate or extend the rookie contract of a drafted rookie who was selected in any round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Any permissible renegotiated or extended player contract will not be considered a rookie contract, and will not be subject to the rules that limit rookie contracts.

James Carpenter
2014: $1.4m base, $2.4m cap hit

KJ Wright
2014: $645k base, $766k cap hit

Richard Sherman
2014: $645k base, $690k cap hit

Byron Maxwell
2014: $645k base, $670k cap hit

Malcolm Smith
2014: $645k base, $655k cap hit

Wright, Sherman, Maxwell and Smith all look like great candidates for extensions.

Looking at that list reminds me of how good that draft turned out to be. Except for Carpenter, imo.

The only way, in my completely amateur opinion, I can see re-signing all of them to fair market contracts would be to:

- Cut Rice
- Restructure Miller's contract
- Restructure Red's contract
- Do not sign either BB or Thurmond
- Let a couple of the D-Line guys walk
- Let Carpenter or McQuistan walk

I don't like any of those options. And we haven't even looked at what needs to get done to keep Tate and Baldwin too.

Ouch.

- Yes ($7.3 mill freed cap space)
- No, have to cut him this year ($5 mill freed cap space) or demand a huge pay cut. Restructuring means pushing his salary off costing team down the road. Only reason to do that is if team is old and window is about to shut faster than ATL.
- No, see Miller. Probably have to cut him as well after 2014 season or this year. It's either him or Mebane.
- BB isn't getting signed. He can't even play until next December. Thurmond will be cheap relative to his talent. Injury prone and when he finally gets healthy suspension. That said I don't know that he is worthy of this team. Especially with how well Carroll is at picking DBs.
- Yup. Bye bye Bennett....or cut Clemons ($7.5 mill freed cap space) and sign Bennett for less. Or cut Avril and keep the other two. But I think Seattle goes younger.
- Both of them gone. But let's be real here they are replaceable.

How do you not like the cutting Rice option? When was the last season he had that was worth $7.3 mill? I'll give you a hint it wasn't with the Seahawks. Miller for $5 mill...if it means keeping our elite players I'll take the risk. Clemons is 33 next October. Keep him or Bennett?

Don't over estimate Tate and Baldwin. They will be lucky to get $5 mill/yr and if they do let them take it. Maybe consider paying Tate something around that number but not Baldwin considering we will get draft pick/s to compensate since he is a RFA.

Fair points, thanks. Wouldn't Red and Miller be interested in longer term 'retirement' deals? Also staggering the bulk of their cap hits further forward might give us some wiggle room to re-sign Earl and possibly even RW. The Mebane deal is a mystery to me though... I mean how far do we go to preserve cap space? Since most of our D-Line, it seems, are long-standing vets or free agent mercenaries?

Rice... yeah I would only be upset because when he is healthy he has been incredibly clutch. Unlike Branch, another top WR free agent signing that was a straight up disappointment.

O-Line, predicting an emphasis during the next draft on the LG and RT positions.

Dunno.... Tate is a wildcard in so far as him being closely tuned into Seattle and RW, and the so-called "Fail Mary" which has, by my observations, appeared to make him a player perceived as an antagonist by the rest of the league. Baldwin? Man... UDFA, highly productive and clutch, under the radar somewhat. Looking to get paid by teams like the Redskins who are desperately seeking help to justify the RGIII investment. Not to mention division rivals seeking to steal our better players...

---

Anyways, back on topic I would really like to see Wright, Smith, and Maxwell get fair longer term deals.

And Sherman... of course. But I think a Jerry Jones type character in Dallas would be willing to make him a rich, rich man to bring that skill and swagger to Dallas. That possibility is very scary.

 

[EverydayImRusselin]

Mark my words, Sherman is gone. Probably end up with 100 million from Washington or Dallas.

What I was thinking

Even if that happens it won't be until after the 2015 season because he can be franchised. That's a lot of risk he has to accept in addition to a reduced salary vs what he could get by resigning.

 

[chris98251]

Lots of teams would love Baldwin or Tate, Panthers, Skins, Tampa, Detroit, Raiders, to name a few just to take pressure off their number one guys. Both are proven clutch and tough players.

 

[AF_Hawk]

Won't Thurmond most likely come on the cheap given his injury history and now drug issue? Would love to keep him for depth.