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State of the Franchise: Seahawks Before Free Agency

March 8th, 2014

Brandon Sweeney

Posted in 2014 Free Agency, Opinions

The honor and pressure it is to hold the name of “Defending Super Bowl Champions.” Statistically, teams that go to the Super Bowl do not do so hot the following season, but the Seattle Seahawks are looking to prove those odds wrong. Things are going pretty great in Seattle right now. After winning the Super Bowl, the Seahawks are now owning NFL jersey sales — with four in the top ten.

On Tuesday, Free Agency will kick off and teams are always interested in the players who just hoisted the Lombardi for leadership and talent. The Seahawks have several men looking for a pay day after their huge win on February 2. Starting with guys like Michael Bennett, Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin, Brandon Browner, Pual McQuistan, and Walter Thurmond.

Secondly, guys like Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas are looking for contract extensions from the organization. Both players deserve a contract after their efforts in the title run of course, but will cost the Seahawks a pretty penny. So, it is simply evident, the Seahawks will have trouble keeping the team they just had in February together.

That is why, the Seahawks have already started re-signing some youth and depth onto the roster. The Seahawks re-signed safety Jeron Johnson and and offensive lineman Lemuel Jeanpierre both on Friday. The 26-year-old Jeanpierre started three games last season. Johnson played in just seven games last season before being placed on injured reserve due to a nagging hamstring injury. Johnson holds second-string as he plays behind Kam Chancellor, so his reps are limited.

The Seahawks will do their best not to be “gutted” much like the Baltimore Raven were last year when losing most of their starters. ”Obviously, I would like to be in Seattle, but the hard part is over,” Tate says. “I did my job. I handled my business. I stayed healthy. I was reliable all year. Each year I’ve shown to be better than the last.”

Will the Seahawks be able to to retain any of their players? Perhaps but it must come at a very fixed salary.

Who will the Seahawks target during the time of Free Agency? Well, Sidney Rice will not be with the organization anymore taking away the team’s biggest wide receiver. The Seahawks may look in the direction of a big-bodied receiver. Then, I would expect head coach Pete Carroll to look for depth to continue his great program that he has implemented in Seattle.

Brandon Sweeney is Co-Editor of the Gab Network. Follow him on Twitter @NFLNSTUFF, Like him on Facebook , add him to Google+, and Trust him on Sulia.

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Seahawks QB Wilson Turned Down “Dancing With The Stars”

March 2nd, 2014

Matt Loede

Posted in News

Russell Wilson is well-known for his moves in the pocket, but he apparently has turned down the opportunity to showcase his skills on the dance floor, ESPN reports.

Wilson revealed in a recent interview with Access Hollywood that he has declined multiple opportunities to compete on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

“I have been invited, twice actually,” Wilson told Access Hollywood. “After my rookie year, I got invited to do ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and then after this year, I got invited to do ‘Dancing with the Stars.’”

Wilson acknowledged that although he is a fan of the show and hopes to participate at some point, he currently wants to focus on his career with the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

“I need to focus on my football career right now,” the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback said. “I’m trying to do as much as I can in terms of winning football games for the Seattle Seahawks and our franchise. But I will do it at some point, for sure.”

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Russell Wilson Wants To Someday Own A MLB Or NFL Team

February 26th, 2014

Matt Loede

Posted in News

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is in New York today on a promo tour for Microsoft’s and revealed — among other things — that he wants to own an NFL or Major League Baseball team someday, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports.

Wilson made that revelation while answering a question about his scheduled visit to training camp with the Texas Rangers next week, saying that while he hopes to “steal a base or something,” he mostly wants to be around the team and learn as much as he can.

“I want to be an owner of a team someday, so for me I’m looking to get around as many people as I can,” he said.

As for when he might want to own a team, he said “after playing 20 years, hopefully for the Seahawks, hopefully I can do that.”

Wilson can renegotiate his initial rookie contract following the 2014 season — he’ll again be one of the great bargains in the NFL in 2014, locked into a base salary of $662,434 under terms of his initial rookie deal signed in 2012. But Wilson said he hasn’t put much thought into that process.

“For me, I’m just trying to prove myself on a regular basis and prove myself on the practice field and the game field and let the Seattle Seahawks know that I’m a franchise player,” he said.

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Report: Seahawks To Release DL Red Bryant

February 24th, 2014

Matt Loede

Posted in 2014 Free Agency, News

The offseason has officially begun for the Super Bowl champs – and it could come with the release of one of their big defensive lineman.

NFL.com and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Hawks are considering releasing Red Bryant.

The big reason why of course is money, as Bryant this season is set to make $8.5 million – the sixth highest salary on the team.

If the team does release Bryant, they will save $5.5 million in cap space.

With Bryant and the expected release of WR Sidney Rice, the team could go after and re-sign defensive end Michael Bennett and receiver Golden Tate.

Bryant was a fourth-round draft pick by the Seahawks in 2008 and had 30 tackles and 1.5 sacks last season.

The team needs to also think ahead to signing younger players, and that money they would save could also go a long way in starting that process.

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Seahawks Won’t Use Franchise Tag Says GM Schneider

February 21st, 2014

Matt Loede

Posted in 2014 Free Agency, News

Seahawks general manager John Schneider said Thursday in Indianapolis that the team has no plans to place a franchise tag on one of its high-profile free agents, which include defensive lineman Michael Bennett, wide receiver Golden Tate and kicker Steven Hauschka, Terry Blount of ESPN.com reports.

“I don’t anticipate us having to do that,” Schneider said in an interview with 710 ESPN Seattle radio. “It’s definitely a tool that you have in your back pocket, but at this point where we are with our unrestricted free agents, I don’t anticipate us using it.”

Schneider, however, hopes to re-sign each of those players, along with the majority of the other Seahawks free agents.

“Where we are right now is trying to keep this thing together as long as we possibly can,” Schneider said. “I’m not looking forward to the tough decisions ahead us. You’re affecting people’s lives and people you’ve become very close with.

“But in order to be a consistent championship-caliber team, you have to draft well, be able make tough decisions and live with those decisions. We don’t want to be a team that cruises in for a year and cruises out.”

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Who Is On Your Mount Rushmore Of Seahawks Nation?

February 15th, 2014

Matt Loede

Posted in Opinions

Recently a lot has been made about ESPN’s interesting chat about who would be on various Mount Rushmore of professional sports leagues.

You know Mount Rushmore right – that National monument sculpture carved into the granite face of a mountain near Keystone, South Dakota. (Yes we looked it up on Wikipedia).

So today we throw out the question to our fan base – what Seahawks would make your ‘Mount Rushmore of Seahawks Nation.’?

Now of course right off the bat you would have to make sure a spot is saved for Steve Largent – One of the great Hawks of all-time, and Hall of Famer!

While Largent is the George Washington, that leaves three spots left, and that’s where our loyal readers and fan base come in to play.

Let’s leave comments about the three spots and come up with our own ‘Mount Rushmore Of Seahawks Nation.’

So many names, so few spots.

Let’s hear from you Seahawks fans – four names – one monument.

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2014 NFL Free Agents – Seahawks Have $2.8 Mil Of Cap Space

February 8th, 2014

Matt Loede

Posted in 2014 Free Agency

Unrestricted Free Agents

Quarterbacks

Derek Anderson CAR
Jimmy Clausen CAR
Josh McCown CHI
Jordan Palmer CHI
Jon Kitna DAL
Shaun Hill DET
Matt Flynn GB
Chad Henne JAX
Josh Freeman MIN
Luke McCown NO
Curtis Painter NYG
David Garrard NYJ
Michael Vick PHI
Charlie Whitehurst SD
Tarvaris Jackson SEA
Colt McCoy SF
Kellen Clemens STL
Brady Quinn STL
Dan Orlovsky TB
Rusty Smith TEN
Rex Grossman WAS

Running backs

Rashard Mendenhall ARI
Bernard Scott BAL
Willis McGahee CLE
George Winn DAL
Knowshon Moreno DEN
Kahlil Bell GB
James Starks GB
Ray Graham HOU
Jonathan Grimes HOU
Deji Karim HOU
Chad Spann HOU
Ben Tate HOU
Ahmad Bradshaw IND
Donald Brown IND
Tashard Choice IND
Tauren Poole IND
Delone Carter JAX
Maurice Jones-Drew JAX
Toby Gerhart MIN
LeGarrette Blount NE
Andre Brown NYG
Peyton Hillis NYG
Darius Reynaud NYJ
Rashad Jennings OAK
Darren McFadden OAK
Jonathan Dwyer PIT
Felix Jones PIT
La’Rod Stephens-Howling PIT
Ronnie Brown SD
Anthony Dixon SF
Spencer Larsen TB
Brian Leonard TB
Jackie Battle TEN
Leon Washington TEN

Fullbacks

John Kuhn GB
Lex Hilliard NYJ
Chris Gronkowski SD
Michael Robinson SEA
Erik Lorig TB
Greg Jones TEN

Wide receivers

Andre Roberts ARI
Jacoby Jones BAL
Brandon Stokley BAL
Brandon Kaufman BUF
Ted Ginn CAR
Domenik Hixon CAR
Brandon LaFell CAR
Devin Hester CHI
Brandon Tate CIN
Andre Caldwell DEN
Eric Decker DEN
Kevin Ogletree DET
Micheal Spurlock DET
James Jones GB
Deion Branch IND
Darrius Heyward-Bey IND
Josh Lenz IND
Taylor Price JAX
Kyle Williams KC
Terrance Cooper KC
Chad Hall KC
Jerrell Jackson KC
Dexter McCluster KC
Marlon Moore MIA
Jerome Simpson MIN
Joe Webb MIN
Austin Collie NE
Julian Edelman NE
Robert Meachem NO
Louis Murphy NYG
Hakeem Nicks NYG
Julian Talley NYG
Josh Cribbs NYJ
Jacoby Ford OAK
Riley Cooper PHI
Jeremy Maclin PHI
Plaxico Burress PIT
Jerricho Cotchery PIT
Emmanuel Sanders PIT
Seyi Ajirotutu SD
Danario Alexander SD
Lavelle Hawkins SD
Arceto Clark SEA
Golden Tate SEA
Bryan Walters SEA
Anquan Boldin SF
Mario Manningham SF
Kassim Osgood SF
Adam Henry STL
Tiquan Underwood TB
Kenny Britt TEN
Marc Mariani TEN
Kevin Walter TEN
Damian Williams TEN
Dezmon Briscoe WAS
Josh Morgan WAS
Santana Moss WAS

Read the rest of this entry »

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DL Bennett Says He Wants To Be Back With Seahawks

February 6th, 2014

Matt Loede

Posted in News

Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett signed a one-year deal for about $5 million before the season and is now an unrestricted free agent. He provided the Seahawks with versatility — he could play any position along the line — and was also Seattle’s most productive defensive lineman.

Re-signing Bennett is thought to be one of Seattle’s biggest offseason priorities, but he should command heavy interest from other teams after leading the Seahawks in sacks, Jayson Jenks of the Seattle Times reports.

“I want to be back here, 100 percent,” Bennett said. “I love the team, I love my teammates. Pete does a great job of letting us play. I want to be a part of that. I know we can go back and win a Super Bowl again with all these guys. It’s a business, but I definitely want to be back.”

Bennett said he turned down more money and multiyear offers to sign with the Seahawks for one season. But he also said, “Any player in any sport wants a multiyear deal.”

Bennett’s younger brother, Martellus, is a tight end with the Chicago Bears and has said that he would like Michael to play with him. Bennett said that wouldn’t matter much in his decision.

“I know he wants me to come out there and get a chance to play with him,” Bennett said. “But I’m definitely a Seahawk, and I definitely want to be here for the rest of my career.”

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