Assuming the reports of Earl Thomas' return to health are accurate, it seems the Seattle Seahawks will be seeing one half of their All Pro safety tandem back on the practice field sometime in the near future. Strong safety Kam Chancellor, on the other hand, seems set to stick with his holdout for quite some time. Chancellor, reportedly unhappy with his current deal, is said to be seeking an upgrade on his guaranteed dollars and has already displayed his willingness to miss part of Seahawks offseason work in order to ensure the franchise is well aware that he's serious about making it happen.
"In talking to sources about the Kam Chancellor situation, look for Seattle to not do any kind of new deal with Chancellor who is holding out at this point in time, unless that deal is highly favorable for the club and ties up Chancellor for maybe the rest of his career," Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reported on Thursday.
Considering Chancellor is already under contract for next season and the two years after that at annual cap hits of $5.65 million, $6.1 million and $8.125 million, there really is no reason for the Hawks to pony up some new dough. That being said though, Seattle GM John Schneider has already made it clear that he wants to keep negotiations peaceful and keep an open line of communication with his hard-hitting safety.
"If you know Kam Chancellor, there's not animosity here," Schneider said recently, while appearing on Sirius XM NFL Radio, via Field Gulls. "I've worked with his agent for a number of years. We've had good communication."
With the team already having handed new money to running back Marshawn Lynch, quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner this offseason, difficult decisions where the rest of the roster is concerned are bound to arise. The team was already forced to cut defensive tackle Tony McDaniels in a move that head coach Pete Carroll made clear was financially motivated.
While there's little chance of Chancellor playing anywhere other than Seattle in the near future, it's still interesting to see that the Seahawks run of success is coming back to bite them and may continue to do so in the future after Wilson's deal kicks in.
