Details On Michael Bennett's Deal
- Michael Bennett‘s roster bonus is worth $3MM and it’s due on March 18, the fifth day of the new league year, according to ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson (on Twitter). His deal also calls for up to $1MM in per-game active bonuses for 2018. Bennett, 32, graded out as the No. 36 edge defender among 108 qualifiers in 2017, per Pro Football Focus, so he is probably worth the cost the Seahawks. Seattle may lose Sheldon Richardson in free agency and could cut Cliff Avril, making Bennett more important to the roster than ever.
Seahawks’ Kam Chancellor Plans To Play
Kam Chancellor has hinted that he might retire on social media, but that’s apparently not in the cards just yet. The Seahawks safety plans to play in 2018 if he gains medical clearance, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Chancellor’s $6.8MM salary became fully guaranteed last week, so the Seahawks are intent on moving forward with him. It’s still not a slam dunk that Chancellor will get the green light from doctors, however. The veteran missed nearly half of 2017’s games with a neck injury and that comes with a greater risk than, say, a twisted ankle.
Back in January, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll hinted that Chancellor and defensive end Cliff Avril could be forced to hang ’em up. Despite his assessment, both players are still intent on playing. In January, Avril announced his intentions to continue, but it’s quite possible that the Seahawks will release him anyway in order to save $7.5MM against the cap.
Chancellor’s nine appearances last season marked a career low since the Seahawks took him in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech. Between 2011-14, the four-time Pro Bowler started at least 14 games and recorded at least 65 tackles within Seattle’s “Legion of Boom.” He’s missed 16 games over the last three seasons.
Seattle’s vaunted secondary may be disbanded before too long as Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas are both due to become unrestricted free agents next offseason. Chancellor isn’t set to become a free agent until after the 2020 season. Cornerback Byron Maxwell and safety Bradley McDougald will hit unrestricted free agency this offseason. The Seahawks allowed 209.2 yards per game through the air last season, which ranked sixth-best in the NFL.
Seahawks Expected To Pick Up Britt Option
- Justin Britt‘s Seahawks extension contains a $5MM option bonus that is expected to be picked up, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com notes. Britt signed a three-year, $27MM extension last year. The Seahawks not picking up this bonus, however, would only void the final year of the contract (2020) and shift the money to a different year. If the option is not picked up, the $5MM from 2020 would be added to Britt’s 2018 base salary, thus increasing it from $2.75MM to $7.75MM, per Henderson. Additionally, Britt’s $2.75MM ’18 base became fully guaranteed on Friday.
Seahawks Part Ways With Ricky Manning Jr.
- Ricky Manning Jr. will not return for a third season with the Seahawks, Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk tweets. The former NFL cornerback had been the teams’ assistant defensive backs coach the past two seasons.
Charges Against QB Trevone Boykin Dropped
Following his arrest in March of last year, charges have been dropped against Seahawks quarterback Trevone Boykin, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. The 24-year-old was arrested for “for possession of more than two ounces of marijuana and public intoxication” following an incident outside a Dallas bar.
Richard Sherman Acting As His Own Agent
Richard Sherman says he expects to be back with the Seahawks in 2018, as Brady Henderson of ESPN.com writes. The cornerback also revealed that he has been acting as his own agent for at least a year, which is a gutsy move since he is at a pivotal point in his career. 
“I’m sure we’ll have some communication,” Sherman said in reference to him and the Seahawks. “I’m representing myself. The whole agent thing is really overrated at this point. So any conversations we have, we’ll do that, but the cap situation is already kind of weird, so we’ll see what happens.”
Left tackle Russell Okung opted to work without an agent when his Seahawks contract expired in 2016, which yielded mixed results. In that offseason, he signed a free agent deal with the Broncos that effectively gave him one-year, $5MM deal with no guarantees at the time of signing plus a team option to trigger a four-year, $48MM deal with $20.5MM guaranteed afterwards. It’s unlikely that an agent would have advised him to take that risk and the gamble backfired when he turned in a so-so season. After the Broncos cut him, however, he inked a four-year, $53MM deal with the Chargers, including $25MM in effective guarantees.
Even without officially employing an agent, Okung leaned on former agent Jimmy Halsell as an advisor. If Sherman is asked to take a pay cut or is ultimately released, he would be wise to consult with a professional rather than forging out on his own.
Sherman is coming off of Achilles surgery and entering the final year of his deal. His $11MM base salary for 2018 is non-guaranteed, so the Seahawks are expected to consider moving on from their longtime star. It may be hard to picture Sherman in a uniform other that Seattle’s, but before last year’s draft, the Seahawks explored trades for Sherman and even dropped their asking price to a 2017 first-round pick plus a conditional mid-round choice in 2018.
For his part, Sherman says he isn’t worried about the prospect of parting ways with the only franchise he’s ever known.
“Not in my mind,” he said. “We’re going to try to get everything back on track, get healthy and try to get back after it. Hopefully everybody heals up the way they’re supposed to. I hope Kam [Chancellor] can play and it works out however it needs to for him. But obviously, [the roster is] going to look different either way.”
Yankees Acquire Russell Wilson’s MLB Rights
Is Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson poised to go from the pages of Pro Football Rumors to MLB Trade Rumors? Maybe not, but this is perhaps a story to keep an eye on. On Wednesday, the Rangers announced that they have traded Wilson to the Yankees for future considerations. 
Wilson has no current plans to try and become a two-sport athlete, sources tell Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, but he remains passionate about baseball and wants to be around the game. The 29-year-old (30 in November) is not about to leave the Seahawks and walk away from what he does best, but Rangers GM Jon Daniels has indicated in the past that Wilson could have a future in baseball if he ever decided to make the leap.
“Russell has the competitiveness and work ethic to where he’d have a shot if he committed to baseball,” Daniels said in a 2015 interview. “Obviously, he’s got a pretty good thing going on with the Seahawks, and we’re not going to get in the way of that. Playing quarterback is more intensive than the positions of other guys who have attempted to play both sports.”
The four-time Pro Bowler is under contract with the Seahawks through 2019 per the terms of the four-year, $87.6MM extension he signed back in 2015.
Updated 2018 NFL Draft Order
With the Super Bowl in the books, we now know the draft order for the entire first round of the 2018 draft. Here’s the rundown:
1. Cleveland Browns (0-16)
2. New York Giants (3-13)
3. Indianapolis Colts (4-12)
4. Cleveland Browns (via the 4-12 Houston Texans)
5. Denver Broncos (5-11)
6. New York Jets (5-11)
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11)
8. Chicago Bears (5-11)
T-9. Oakland Raiders (6-10)
T-9. San Francisco 49ers (6-10) (Note: The Raiders and 49ers have identical records and the same strength of schedule. The tie will be broken by a coin flip with the winner getting pick No. 9 and the other club receiving the No. 10 pick.)
11. Miami Dolphins (6-10)
12. Cincinnati Bengals (7-9)
13. Washington Redskins (7-9)
14. Green Bay Packers (7-9)
15. Arizona Cardinals (8-8)
16. Baltimore Ravens (9-7)
17. Los Angeles Chargers (9-7)
18. Seattle Seahawks (9-7)
19. Dallas Cowboys (9-7)
20. Detroit Lions (9-7)
21. Buffalo Bills (9-7)
22. Buffalo Bills (via the 10-6 Kansas City Chiefs)
23. Los Angeles Rams (11-5)
24. Carolina Panthers (11-5)
25. Tennessee Titans (9-7)
26. Atlanta Falcons (10-6)
27. New Orleans Saints (11-5)
28. Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3)
29. Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6)
30. Minnesota Vikings (13-3)
31. New England Patriots (13-3)
32. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)
Seahawks Hire Larry Izzo
- The Seahawks have hired former Texans special teams coach Larry Izzo as their new assistant ST coach, reports Alex Marvez of the Sporting News. Izzo was the special teams coach in Houston for the past two years, but was fired last month after back-to-back dismal seasons. He’ll now work under Brian Schneider, who’s been in Seattle since 2010. Izzo, a former NFL linebacker and special teams maven in the AFC East, is replacing Heath Farwell, who took a similar role with the Panthers.
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2018 Proven Performance Escalators
According to the NFL’s contractual bargaining agreement, players drafted in rounds three though seven are entitled to raises during the fourth year of their respective rookie contracts. The pay bumps are tied to playing time — a player must have played in 35% of his team’s offensive or defensive snaps in two of his first three seasons, or averaged 35% playing time cumulatively during that period.
If one of these thresholds is met, the player’s salary is elevated to the level of that year’s lowest restricted free agent tender — that figure should be around $1.908MM in 2018. Players selected in the first or second round, undrafted free agents, and kickers/punters are ineligible for the proven performance escalator.
Here are the players who will see their salary rise in 2018 courtesy of the proven performance escalator:
49ers: Trent Brown, T; Eli Harold, LB
Bears: Adrian Amos, S
Bengals: Tyler Kroft, TE; Josh Shaw, DB
Bills: John Miller, G
Broncos: Max Garcia, G; Trevor Siemian, QB
Browns: Duke Johnson, RB
Buccaneers: Kwon Alexander, LB
Cardinals: David Johnson, RB; J.J. Nelson, WR
Chargers: Kyle Emanuel, LB
Chiefs: Chris Conley, WR; Steven Nelson, CB
Colts: Henry Anderson, DE; Mark Glowinski, G; Denzelle Good, OL
Dolphins: Bobby McCain, CB
Eagles: Jay Ajayi, RB; Jordan Hicks, LB
Falcons: Grady Jarrett, DT
Jaguars: A.J. Cann, OL
Lions: Quandre Diggs, CB
Packers: Jake Ryan, LB
Panthers: Daryl Williams, T
Patriots: Trey Flowers, DE; Shaq Mason, G
Raiders: Clive Walford, TE
Rams: Jamon Brown, G
Ravens: Za’Darius Smith, LB
Redskins: T.J. Clemmings, OL; Jamison Crowder, WR
Saints: Tyeler Davison, DT
Seahawks: Tyler Lockett, WR
Steelers: Jesse James, TE
Vikings: Stefon Diggs, WR; Danielle Hunter, DE
OverTheCap.com was essential in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.