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As the Seahawks prepared to meet for the first time Monday as a team since the end of the 2018 season, uncertainty lingered over two of their biggest players, quarterback Russell Wilson and the defensive lineman Frank Clark.
Wilson set a new contract with the Seahawks on Monday, and had it been reported over the weekend that negotiations between the two sides had been intensified, it was unclear whether anything was happening. imminent.
And a report released Sunday night by Peter King of NBCSports.com and Pro Football Talk seemed to add some urgency to the situation, saying that if Wilson did not have a new contract with the Seahawks on Monday at midnight, he would not negotiate with President. Seahawks even after the 2020 season.
A common assumption was that Wilson simply wanted to stop all negotiations after the season if an agreement was not reached now. But according to what King called "a source close to the talks", Wilson and (agent Mark) Rodgers "do not plan to negotiate more with the Seahawks, point" if an agreement is not concluded Monday. King added that "my source says that they told the Seahawks, general manager John Schneider, that this must be done now or not at all."
King also provided information on contractual stumbling blocks that may indicate that Wilson may wish to have an "all-in-one" arrangement to adjust future years based on the increase in the salary cap. as well as new sources of income, such as: The money coming from the league's growing links with the game or the new television offerings, adds dollars to the coffers of each team. As King has pointed out, basing part of the contract on a percentage of the salary cap would set a precedent that the Seahawks might be reluctant to accept. But Wilson, King wrote, wants to stay in Seattle, but also wants to know that his team is also committed to him.
Wilson, wrote King, "wants to know where he is with the Seahawks in the long run, which is one of the reasons he insists that an agreement be reached now."
As for Clark, he has not yet signed his franchise label for the 2019 season and the Seahawks are exploring all options, including listening to commercial offers. Sunday night, reports Pro Football Talk via Twitter "There were rumors tonight about the league about a possible exchange with Frank Clark." But early Sunday night, there was no definitive announcement of an exchange.
Clark is unlikely to be here on Monday as the Seahawks begin their official training program for the off-season, sessions that are voluntary.
Wilson, however, will be present, confirmed a source at the Seattle Times, even though he does not have a new contract.
The NFL rules allow teams to organize a nine-week training program beginning with Phase 1, which consists of two weeks of activities limited to strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation. Phases two and three include field exercises that include organized team activities and then a mandatory minicamp.
Because everything except the minicamp is officially voluntary, veterans often forget part of it, and some players in the past have failed in almost all, such as former Seahawks Marshawn Lynch and Michael Bennett. Clark did this last year, citing several reasons, although one of them was that he was entering the last year of his contract and was hoping for an extension.
Clark still does not, although the Seahawks prevented him from becoming a free agent by hitting him with the franchise tag, which would give him a fully guaranteed salary of $ 17.1 million for the 2019 season. .
When Clark was tagged, it was assumed that he would be alongside the Seahawks in 2019, a head coach of the guesses seemed to indicate that it was valid at NFL meetings last month, when he said his team was negotiating with Clark over a long period. futures contract.
"This time of year, in its situation, there are all sorts of speculations," Carroll said at the end of March. "We're going to see what's going on, not at all worried about Frank, Frank has had a fantastic season, we're excited to see him back, we're going to get the best out of it."
Clark, however, did not sign the etiquette and it was reported that he had no plans to sign it and that he would remain in the camp in the hope of obtaining a long-term agreement.
Teams can negotiate with players marked until July 15th.
After this period, the marked players can only play under the conditions of the tag, no negotiation is allowed before the season.
Kansas City traded defensive wing Dee Ford to the 49ers shortly after tagging him, rather than signing him on a long-term contract, and the minute Clark was scooped, rumors ran that other teams would think the Seahawks were Clark as long as his future was uncertain.
Clark will be 26 on June 14 and has just had his best season in the NFL with 13 sacks in 2018. He has made 32 sacks in the last three seasons, 10thhighest in the league, and is likely to want a similar contract, if not superior, to that signed on April 6 by Dallas DeMarcus Lawrence, a five-year contract averaging $ 21 million with $ 48 million fully guaranteed.
These terms, which would mean paying Clark about $ 4 million more than the 2019 tag number, would make Clark the highest paid defensive player on the Seahawks and second overall in the standings behind Wilson.
Seattle could be hard to swallow, especially as he was still trying to reach a deal with Wilson, knowing that linebacker Bobby Wagner and defensive tackle Jarran Reed were also in the final season. their contracts.
Some observers wondered Sunday night after the PFT report on Clark whether this meant the Seahawks were closer to an agreement with Wilson, the idea being they had decided not to sign Clark again to free up the money for Wilson. But Seattle could also be reluctant to give Clark a contract that, realistically, should probably make him the third highest-paying defensive player in the NFL after only Chicago Bears Khalil Mack and Los Angeles Rams Aaron Donald.
Seattle has a large coverage area for the 2020 and beyond seasons. But this is partly due to the fact that many of its major players are not under contract for long periods.
At the moment, three players are not in standard contract for rookies in Seattle beyond the 2020 season: left tackle Duane Brown, receiver Tyler Lockett and kicker Jason Myers.
It remains to be seen whether the Seahawks have spared to pay Wilson, Clark, Wagner and Reed, or whether they have played a little more cautiously as a result of the change in training alignment a year ago.
Among the few reports that Wilson's discussions with the Seahawks were warming up, the most decisive came from Jake Heaps, who was part of the Seattle training squad and training in the low season as Wilson's replacement for two seasons and now helps lead Wilson's youth – quarterback academy.
On Saturday afternoon, Heaps said Wilson's agent, Rodgers and Schneider "have been meeting for several hours over the past two days" and "hope all Seahawks fans will be able to lock themselves in," Wilson said. .
No progress was reported Sunday night, although there were rumors about his future.
Kansas City Chiefs Safety Tyrann Mathieu fueled a late Saturday night answering to a tweet from Pro Football Talk stating, "Russ wants New York. But you did not hear that from T .. ''
In the story Mathieu responded to, PFT said, "According to a League source, the Seahawks think Wilson would like to play somewhere else, even if he did not say it and never say it. They also believe that this tacit dynamic will force Wilson to negotiate a more difficult deal with them than he would with another team. "
Wilson has set Monday the deadline for obtaining a new contract since it is the beginning of the offseason training program.
But although Wilson has set a deadline, the Seahawks are not obliged to respect it, knowing that Wilson is under contract for the 2019 season and that they can use franchise tags in 2020 and 2021 for contracts that would be expensive, handle reasonably enough, to keep it in place, if necessary.
However, the Seahawks hope to enter into a new contract with Wilson when the deadline has expired. Wilson set a similar deadline in 2015 to get a contract completed at the start of the training camp. The contract was announced at the opening of the day camp.
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