Russell Okung Out 5 Months with shoulder surgery

[thebanjodude]

False Start .... 5 yard penalty LOL

Winner.

 

[bjornanderson21]

He might save himself $1-2million in agent fees (if he sees every year of a longterm deal) but he could easily miss out on way more than that during negotiations.

Unless he wants to be a sports agent after he retires and he wants a crash course now, this is way more likely to hurt him, but then again being hurt is what he knows best...

 

[IBleedBlueAndGreen]

He's representing himself. Wow. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

I disagree. Lets say he realizes he's not a 8-10 million dollar left tackle. He knows he's closer to 6-7 million player at this point (speculation). If he signs a $7m/year deal down the road and doesn't just jump at the first low ball offer then he gets ALL of that money and doesn't have to pay an agent 5-15% of his wages. Could work to his advantage.

 

[sutz]

So, all of those saying good bye should understand what the Seahawks do. Our front office just might be able to negotiate a good, team friendly, one year deal with Okung to keep him around, allow him to prove himself in a system he already knows in order to get a bigger contract next year. We take advantage of exactly these kinds of situations.

Dashon Goldson signed a 1 year prove it deal with the 9ers two years in a row (a team he already played for) and it worked out for him, but generally that's a pretty terrible idea to even do once, IMO. (TBF both of the 1 year deals were for more money than he would have and did end up getting in year 1 of his big deal).

That Okung doesn't have an agent advising him against it increases the chances of it happening though, IMO.

The general logic is that it doesn't make much sense to sign a "prove it" deal in a place that you've already had the chance to prove it and haven't gotten what you wanted.

Cue the "false comparison" attacks, but this is basically what Walter Jones did, although technically he signed Franchise Tag tenders for 2-3 seasons IIRC. He, of course, had a history as an iron man after some injury issues early in his career, so that is a huge difference. It is still a huge risk for the player, of course.

I suspect Okung will have to settle for a 'prove it' deal wherever he ends up. If he does get any multi-year offers, I would expect low guarantees and heavy incentives based on playing time. He has the skills when healthy.

Note, isn't this the second time he's been hit with shoulder issues? IIRC that was what derailed Boz's career, though the 'roids were a factor, I suspect. There's a lot of leverage for the teams wrapped around this story.

 

[Seymour]

How much of a toll will his injury history take on his market value? Seems like his body has been all screwed up.

Toe, calf, shoulder.. Didn't he have a torn pec at one point?

Yes. And you left out ankle 3X including the same one twice!

 

[PlinytheCenter]

Buh bye...

 

[BlueTalon]

Why pay someone 5% (or whatever the going rate is) of a $20 million contract if you can keep that money for yourself?

I think the way to do it is pay a fee to have a lawyer review the contract, rather than paying a percentage of the contract to an agent. IMO, having an agent is only really worthwhile if he is going to get endorsement deals for the player.

 

[Rob12]

He's representing himself. Wow. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Okung is plenty sharp and is just cutting out the middle man. Maybe the man has some morals about him and wanted any potential suitors to know that he is hurt, and will need surgery. He has a life after football, I think. He's got it between the ears, and I doubt football is his highest priority in life.

Like I've said before, I'm 50/50 on him coming back. I don't think he'll easily be replaced, but he's probably not worth the price tag that he is potentially seeking.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

Not very smart that he broke FA rules since he's still a Hawk till FA starts..Let him go,I'm sick of the bs

He didn't 'break free agency rules.' A player is allowed to give updates on his status, to other teams, so long as he's not talking contract terms. It is the receiving team's obligation (in this case, 32 separate teams) to inform the Seahawks they received the email from him, since he is still under contract.

 

[Hawkscanner]

This is actually good news believe it or not. He is looking at a 1 yr prove it deal now. The best place for him to prove it, would be with the Seahawks for obvious reasons. So Seattle will offer something along the lines of 1 yr $4M with an additional $4M in incentive bonuses for a total of $8M. I wouldn't mind having him back on a 1 year deal. My fear was matching a big multi-year contract. That goes out the window now.

I pretty much agree with Fade's take here. It was obvious to me that Okung really hurt himself, so this news isn't surprising to me in the least. And given this news coupled with his injury history -- yeah, I would definitely have to think that his price tag certainly drops. I would think that a 1 year "prove it" deal would be what he would probably get ... and IMO the most likely scenario (the most likely landing spot) is right back where he already is -- the Seahawks. Given this news, I would think he'd end up with a contract more in that $7-8 million range once incentives are figured in -- basically the same salary that he has averaged with the Hawks. A couple of things to keep in mind:

1) As much as he might drive us crazy at times, it's honestly not easy to just come up with LT's the skill level of an Okung or better. There aren't a ton out there. Given that Okung is/was set to be the #1 FA LT out there, the Seahawks were going to have a tough time competing for his services. This may have just leveled the playing field.

2) For all the hand wringing we have with this guy -- we need to remember that he's still only 28 years old. He's logged a lot of mileage on that body, but history says that OL remain effective well in to their 30s. Again, LT's just don't grow on trees.

3) Signing Okung to a team friendly deal doesn't necessarily preclude the Seahawks from drafting a player whom they envision as their Left Tackle of the future. If they draft that heir apparent this year, he can certainly learn a thing or 2 from Okung.

In the end, I don't see this as necessary bad news for the Seahawks either. I see them taking somewhat of a wait and see approach. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised given this news if he's actually back for the 2016 Season.

 

[brimsalabim]

I really like the guy but he just doesn't move well enough to protect in our offense. I have a feeling that he would fair much better in a traditional offense with a more stationary QB.

 

[dogorama]

The trend is too get bigger guaranteed money, that is not going to happen for. Teams are learning fast that the best way to ruin your future is to guarantee too much money.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

This is good news.

Okung's value is now far less than it was before his need for surgery. I highly doubt any team is going to break the bank for a LT with as many injury issues as Okung.

Me thinks he's going to have no choice but to come back on a one year deal to prove he can stay somewhat healthy. I'd be fine with that.

 

[mikeak]

I would say it shows his very clear intent to test the market. Emailed all 32 teams.

It would have been a lot more fun if he excluded one team like say Cleveland or some other team. That would have been smarter in that it would have created more articles about him etc

Of course it would have decreased the market for him so you pick someone where there is no chance that he goes anyways

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

So, all of those saying good bye should understand what the Seahawks do. Our front office just might be able to negotiate a good, team friendly, one year deal with Okung to keep him around, allow him to prove himself in a system he already knows in order to get a bigger contract next year. We take advantage of exactly these kinds of situations.

I'm sure John will be in conversations with Okung all the way until he signs with someone. I expect our front office will stay on top of it until the final decision is made.

Exactly what I was thinking.

Also, who's to say Okung would WANT to go to the highest bidder? He was the first player drafted by Pete & John, he's been here for the churn, rebuild, and continued success. He already has plenty of money for future generations of Okungs. Maybe he would rather stick around on a reasonable, team-friendly deal, in terms of both dollars and contract length.

If that's the case, let him mentor the next LT and smooth over the transition. No big whoop.

 

[MysterMatt]

Others have beat me to it, but I think this may be good news for us in more than just dollars and the cap. Okung is now in the category of player who will likely have to show he is healthy and can perform at a level that deserves a big long-term contract. The team can now offer him a very cap-friendly 1-2 year "prove it" deal. Others have already said this.

What also seems like a benefit to me is that he may now see that he won't have much time to test the market due to his injury. He may see the benefit in a short-term deal and sign it NOW, or soon, so we can check this box before FA even starts. I still think we need to draft real competition at LT, but it will be nice to not be forced into anything.

 

[HawkGA]

I wonder if this increases the chance he signs late instead. I read somewhere recently that the comp picks stop around May signings or something like that. He could leave the Hawks uncertain on draft day then sign so late they won't even get a comp pick for him.