The Hawks Nest: Will They Leave the Nest?
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With the career years that a few of the Seahawks’ major role players are having, I think that it is time to start discussing their futures.
As we all know, the salary cap has been trending towards the unfathomably large, creating the type of space that not even the 49ers brass can max out. According to an ESPN article dated December 7, 2006, the salary cap for the 2007 season is at $109 million and it will increase by $7 million ($116 million) for the 2008 season. The 2007 Seahawks are at $99,567,188 in payroll, leaving them at about $9.5 million in cap space. Add that to the $7 million you have $16.5 million.
What can you get for $16.5 million in today’s NFL? (This is not taking in to account the cap hits next year, the release of players and other “cap casualties”)
Well, here is a list of the top 25 paid players this year (USA Today):
1 Freeney, Dwight $ 30,750,000 Indianapolis Colts
2 Bulger, Marc $ 17,502,040 St. Louis Rams
3 Davis, Leonard $ 17,006,240 Dallas Cowboys
4 Adams, Gaines $ 15,434,000 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5 Geathers, Robert $ 14,000,000 Cincinnati Bengals
6 Redding, Cory $ 13,625,000 Detroit Lions
7 Dockery, Derrick $ 13,504,680 Buffalo Bills
8 Bush, Reggie $ 13,375,960 New Orleans Saints
9 Dielman, Kris $ 13,305,280 San Diego Chargers
10 Johnson, Larry $ 13,300,000 Kansas City Chiefs
11 Ferguson, D'Brickashaw $ 13,253,380 N.Y. Jets Jets
12 Young, Vince $ 13,143,000 Tennessee Titans
13 Thomas, Adalius $ 13,006,720 New England Patriots
14 Porter, Joey $ 13,000,000 Miami Dolphins
15 Williams, Mario $ 12,981,240 Houston Texans
16 Grant, Charles $ 12,800,000 New Orleans Saints
17 White, DeWayne $ 12,605,400 Detroit Lions
18 Vasher, Nathan $ 12,354,560 Chicago Bears
19 Hawk, A.J. $ 12,221,770 Green Bay Packers
20 Tillman, Charles $ 12,104,720 Chicago Bears
21 Kelsay, Chris $ 12,100,000 Buffalo Bills
22 Polamalu, Troy $ 11,576,920 Pittsburgh Steelers
23 Barnett, Nick $ 11,475,000 Green Bay Packers
24 Fletcher, London $ 11,410,000 Washington Redskins
25 Clements, Nate $ 11,100,000 San Francisco 49ers
Those aren’t exactly the 25 best players. Where is Peyton? Or Tom Brady? Or even LT? That is going to cause some issues this offseason as teams gauge what their players are worth.
Impact Seahawks who will be Free Agents:
Marcus Trufant
Marcus is definitely having his best season with 62 tackles, 4 Interceptions and 12 Passes Defended. He has stepped into his roll as the #1 corner on this team and it would be a shame to see this local product go the way of Ken Lucas and Shawn Springs. Prediction: $8-$9million a year for 5 years
Leonard Weaver
Weaver has become Mack Strong’s replacement so if they can’t lock him down, the Hawks will have some problems to deal with. He isn’t getting the ball enough to make a difference in the run game, but he has soft hands and is able to make people miss. Holmgren has stated how much he likes Leonard as well, so don’t be surprised to see a deal reached. Prediction: $1-$2 million a year for 3 years
D.J. Hackett
What a year he is having…now if he could stay healthy. I don’t see that causing a problem, though. He will come back. Prediction: $1-$2 million a year for 3 years
Josh Brown
They used the Franchise tag on him last year and want to keep him long-term. The organization has said that they still trust his leg, despite his recent struggles, and he has stated he wants to retire in blue and green. Prediction: $2-$3 million a year for 5 years
Floyd Womack
“Porkchop” is built of glass. The man has not had one complete season. He was slated to be the replacement for Hutchison last year, and then guess what happened…he got hurt. His upside? He can play EVERY line position, and because of this he will always have a job. Will it be with the Seahawks? Prediction: They finally part ways.
Sean Locklear
He is their right tackle. He has been called “solid”, “very good” and “on the cusp”. They will re-sign him. Prediction: $2-$3 million a year for 3 years
Chuck Darby
Chuck is a great player to have on a team. He is a leader and he is great fore the rotation that the Hawks use. Prediction: $1-$2 million a year for up to 2 years
Craig Terrill
He may be having his best season and he has proven that all of the talk during trianing camp about him not making the team was premature. He is another of the DTs that are very useful in the rotation that the Seahawks use. He is high-character and plays guitar…what does this have to do with anything? Well, I am sure he enjoys living in the Seattle music scene. Prediction: $1-$2 million a year for up to 4 years (Depending on him. He may want to leave)
Niko Koutouvides
He may end up being highly paid. Why? He is the best player on special teams, he is a special teams Captain and we have seen how much the Seahawks like their special teamers (Alex Bannister, anyone?) Prediction: $1-$2 million a year for up to 3 years
Jordan Babineaux
“Big Play” might go the way of Marquand Manuel this off season and realize that he could get a starting Safety job somewhere. The Seahawks should do what they can to keep him, though. The guy can play all positions in the secondary. His price might come out to be too high for a Nickel back/back-up Safety. Prediction: $2-$3 million a year for 3 years
Of course none of these numbers mean anything except what I believe these players are worth. A lot of this will have to do with what happens in the Free Agent Market as well. If they get the chance to sign Allen Faneca don’t you think it will happen? Or if a Running Back wants to come here, they may throw caution to the wind and go after him.
Right now, though, you have to think that Trufant, Weaver, Hackett, Brown and Locklear on the top of their list to re-sign. As much as it would pain a lot of Seahawks fans some of these guys will end up playing for other teams. That is the way of the league.
