While there may exist some hard feelings between the Seattle Seahawks front office and strong safety Kam Chancellor, it seems no such ill will has developed between Chancellor and Dion Bailey, the man currently lining up with the first-team Seahawks defense in Chancellor's absence.
"I talk to Kam often, especially after games," said Bailey, via Sheil Kapadia of ESPN. "Just asking him how I looked, what he thinks I could have done better. It's been all positive. He's been a huge supporter in my corner ever since I've been granted this opportunity, and I support him in what he's trying to do."
Chancellor, the Seahawks Pro Bowl safety, has been a no-show at Seattle training camp thus far as he attempts to get the lucrative contract extension he signed just prior to the 2012 season revamped. Seahawks GM John Schneider has indicated that the team is listening, but reports have indicated that Schneider and Co. are unlikely to pony up further guaranteed dough for Chancellor unless it's "highly favorable" for the team and, perhaps more importantly, that many interested parties around the league are hoping that the franchise stands firm and doesn't give in to Chancellor's demands.
Despite the impasse, Chancellor has, per Bailey, been calling and texting him on a nearly daily basis in an attempt to help him prepare for the season.
"This game is much more than just football to Kam," Bailey said. "He's really a person that wants to see everybody prosper. He's not letting the business aspect of the game get into his emotional side. He still loves football, wants to see everybody do well. He watches film every day, critiques me through practice. He texts me like, 'Oh, you should have did that' or 'You looked good doing that' type thing. He's so passionate about seeing other people do well. You don't find that in a guy that's had so much success. They're normally more selfish-minded, but he's the complete opposite of that."
Bailey, an undrafted free agent out of USC, is set to enter his second NFL season. He hasn't yet logged a defensive stat, so his abilities are a complete unknown to those outside of Seattle.
While it's likely a troublesome thought for Seahawks fans that their tone-setting safety may be replaced in the starting lineup by a wet-behind-the-ears second-year player, it at least has to calm some nerves that Chancellor has been doing his best to help shepherd Bailey through the ups and downs of his early NFL life.
