Seahawks Fire Sale Rumored

[Mojouw]

Lots of Twitter and internet speculation that the Seahawks are blowing it up on defense.

Bennett traded, Sherman likely getting cut, Irvin and Chancellor's careers in doubt due to injury.

Now it is getting out there that Earl Thomas might be available. Pro Bowler in like 6 of last 7 seasons. 2018 will be his age 28 season. Cap hit of 10.4 million (http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/seattle-s...l-thomas-6523/) so basically cut Mitchell and Wilcox and you're pretty much there...

If all this is true, what do you give up in draft picks for one year of Earl Thomas? He is a UFA in 2019.

I'd offer them Mitchell and a 3rd as an opener. And it won't be Leveon Bell so let's not even start with that...

[teegre]

Lots of Twitter and internet speculation that the Seahawks are blowing it up on defense.

Bennett traded, Sherman likely getting cut, Irvin and Chancellor's careers in doubt due to injury.

Now it is getting out there that Earl Thomas might be available. Pro Bowler in like 6 of last 7 seasons. 2018 will be his age 28 season. Cap hit of 10.4 million (http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/seattle-s...l-thomas-6523/) so basically cut Mitchell and Wilcox and you're pretty much there...

If all this is true, what do you give up in draft picks for one year of Earl Thomas? He is a UFA in 2019.

I'd offer them Mitchell and a 3rd as an opener. And it won't be Leveon Bell so let's not even start with that...

He wants to be a Cowboy.

He he walked into the Dallas lockerroom and asked them to trade for him. If he went there, he’d re-sign. Otherwise, anyone else will get him for one season.

I’d trade them Mitchell, Bryant, and our R3 pick.

[pczach]

Earl Thomas would be an amazing addition to this team. Any trade would need to be conditional on Thomas signing a new 3 or 4 year deal extending his stay.

This is one of the reasons that people like myself have stated that I have no problem letting Bell go. When others here say there is nobody out there to use the money on, they need to be reminded that there are always possibilities like this. Earl Thomas is available. Martellus Bennett has just been released by New England. There are always ways to make deals, and there is always plenty of talent that becomes available that makes it advantageous to have salary cap room.

[Mojouw]

Earl Thomas would be an amazing addition to this team. Any trade would need to be conditional on Thomas signing a new 3 or 4 year deal extending his stay.

This is one of the reasons that people like myself have stated that I have no problem letting Bell go. When others here say there is nobody out there to use the money on, they need to be reminded that there are always possibilities like this. Earl Thomas is available. Martellus Bennett has just been released by New England. There are always ways to make deals, and there is always plenty of talent that becomes available that makes it advantageous to have salary cap room.

Salary cap room can be had. I played around on Fanspeak GM sim and I cut Mitchell, Wilcox, Golden, Sensabuagh, DHB, and Gay. Then I restructured Roethlisberger, DeCastro, Tuitt, and AB. Accounted for Bell's tag. Maintained Shazier on the roster. Held over 5 million for the draft class. And...drumroll......$25,989,224 in 2018 salary cap space cleared.

I am no longer willing to accept "salary cap" as a reason for much of anything. It can all be moved around - if a team wants.

If the Steelers don't make a play for Earl Thomas it absolutely shouldn't be due to 2018 salary cap concerns it should be due to draft pick cost and future signability (if he really wants to be in Dallas).

[86WARD]

I’d do whatever it takes to get Thomas in a Steelers uniform if I were Colbert.

[pczach]

Salary cap room can be had. I played around on Fanspeak GM sim and I cut Mitchell, Wilcox, Golden, Sensabuagh, DHB, and Gay. Then I restructured Roethlisberger, DeCastro, Tuitt, and AB. Accounted for Bell's tag. Maintained Shazier on the roster. Held over 5 million for the draft class. And...drumroll......$25,989,224 in 2018 salary cap space cleared.

I am no longer willing to accept "salary cap" as a reason for much of anything. It can all be moved around - if a team wants.

If the Steelers don't make a play for Earl Thomas it absolutely shouldn't be due to 2018 salary cap concerns it should be due to draft pick cost and future signability (if he really wants to be in Dallas).

True, but if they make all that salary cap room and save the money they are going to pay Bell, they can sign three All-pro's and really strengthen this team with elite talent at multiple positions. I mean, we can play that game all day. My only point is that there are always opportunities like what we are talking about in this thread if a team is willing to be aggressive. The Eagles just proved what can be done in a short period of time with good aggressive moves and not pushing all the debt down a short road that could cripple a team in the very near future.

[Shoes]

True, but if they make all that salary cap room and save the money they are going to pay Bell, they can sign three All-pro's and really strengthen this team with elite talent at multiple positions. I mean, we can play that game all day. My only point is that there are always opportunities like what we are talking about in this thread if a team is willing to be aggressive. The Eagles just proved what can be done in a short period of time with good aggressive moves and not pushing all the debt down a short road that could cripple a team in the very near future.

This makes too much sense.

[Mojouw]

True, but if they make all that salary cap room and save the money they are going to pay Bell, they can sign three All-pro's and really strengthen this team with elite talent at multiple positions. I mean, we can play that game all day. My only point is that there are always opportunities like what we are talking about in this thread if a team is willing to be aggressive. The Eagles just proved what can be done in a short period of time with good aggressive moves and not pushing all the debt down a short road that could cripple a team in the very near future.

Well if you can't sign 3 all pros with 30 million dollars of cap space, then you need a better negotiator. But that is likely besides the point...

Not trying to be a jerk, but the reverse is true as well. The Eagles are already in the process of shedding players due to their aggressive moves to acquire proven talent. Curry and Bradham are almost certainly gone. As will be Patrick Robinson and Trey Burton. In a sense, they are paying the piper for last season and have wisely decided to not resign some of these guys in order to preserve the small amount of cap room that they have.

There are always choices to be made and difficult decisions, but the constant hue and cry that tagging Bell cripples the Steelers cap wise and totally prevents them from making moves simply is not true. It is whatever internal prioritization they make about players, cap dollars, draft resources, future cap space, roster construction, etc that are driving the moves.

I mean if you look at it, even with the restructures and some pending extensions that may or may not happen, the Steelers are in amazing cap shape moving forward. Why not push money into the future to add pieces now?

[ALLD]

Eagles did it with a backup QB. We could do it with a backup RB and top 3 D.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Eagles did it with a backup QB. We could do it with a backup RB and top 3 D.

Yep lets roll with Frenchy to a championship!

[Mojouw]

Here is the other thing about Bell's contract that is kinda of total red herring when it comes to whether or not the Steelers would or would not make other moves.

1. Look at any of the big money deals the Steelers have handed out recently (DeCastro, Tuitt, Heyward, AB) and they are all kind of structured the same way. Big cap hit in year one to get the player some money up front. Then some more money in years 2-3 and then basically the math inverts and years 4+ the player has almost no dead cap implications and the Steelers can cut the guy or use that "space" to push a restructure into the back half of the contract. So the parameters for Bell's deal from the team's perspective are fairly obvious.

2. Take an average yearly salary that everyone could swallow, say Lesean McCoy plus some and put it at 11.5 million. Then add in some bonus money and some other things. Move the stuff all around, carry the one, divide by the fact that this is all made up anyway and Mojouw is way to tired to check the legitimacy of anything...and I figure his 2018 cap hit would fall somewhere around 9-10 million dollars.

So unless you want to take the position of "cut Leveon Bell" at any price besides some ludicrously low number, we are talking about the tag costing the team somewhere between 4-6 million more in cap space than the not tag extension would. That is two Wilcox's or one Vance McDonald -- hardly multiple defense re-shaping defenders.

Big time impact free agents were going to require multiple restructures with or without the Bell franchise tag if you begin from the premise that Leveon Bell was going to be on the 2018 roster.

DISCLAIMER - the maths on this may not be totally correct as I am not a "Capologist" but based on everything I can quickly compare against, it is in the ballpark.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

I think we should draft a qb and move Dobbs to rb and let LB walk. Heard Seattle is releasing Graham as well. So there is extra money we can spend on a TE we need.

[pczach]

Well if you can't sign 3 all pros with 30 million dollars of cap space, then you need a better negotiator. But that is likely besides the point...

Not trying to be a jerk, but the reverse is true as well. The Eagles are already in the process of shedding players due to their aggressive moves to acquire proven talent. Curry and Bradham are almost certainly gone. As will be Patrick Robinson and Trey Burton. In a sense, they are paying the piper for last season and have wisely decided to not resign some of these guys in order to preserve the small amount of cap room that they have.

There are always choices to be made and difficult decisions, but the constant hue and cry that tagging Bell cripples the Steelers cap wise and totally prevents them from making moves simply is not true. It is whatever internal prioritization they make about players, cap dollars, draft resources, future cap space, roster construction, etc that are driving the moves.

I mean if you look at it, even with the restructures and some pending extensions that may or may not happen, the Steelers are in amazing cap shape moving forward. Why not push money into the future to add pieces now?

I'm not trying to be a smart ass either. I'm simply saying that there are always moves to be made if you are aggressive enough.

The Eagles just acquired Michael Bennett and a 7th round draft pick for WR Marcus Johnson and a 5th round draft pick.

I'm not calling for the Steelers to stop the very successful approach of drafting the majority of their talent. I do think there are times like right now where there is a move or two out there that can win this team a Super Bowl if they can just make it happen.

I'll say one more thing about Bell that many just don't seem to see. Sometimes, there are players that just aren't worth it.

They are committing to a player that can sit out all of training camp and preseason.
They are committing to a player that may not be able to play at full speed for a quarter of the season.
They are committing to a player that may sit out some of the year or the entire year.
They are committing to a player that may sit out the entire year and take away the ability to sign a quality RB in his absence because there are NONE available during the season when the jackass may be holding out.

They have opened themselves up to all this because they just aren't willing to let him walk.

Committing to Bell could be THE REASON why this team doesn't win a Super Bowl this year because of what I listed above. This is so much deeper than just salary cap implications. He can literally cripple this team and sabotage the season. And....if they win without him, it only proves they didn't need him in the first place and could have used the money to strengthen other positions.

There is probably more bad that can come of this than good.

[Mojouw]

I'm not trying to be a smart ass either. I'm simply saying that there are always moves to be made if you are aggressive enough.

The Eagles just acquired Michael Bennett and a 7th round draft pick for WR Marcus Johnson and a 5th round draft pick.

I'm not calling for the Steelers to stop the very successful approach of drafting the majority of their talent. I do think there are times like right now where there is a move or two out there that can win this team a Super Bowl if they can just make it happen.

I'll say one more thing about Bell that many just don't seem to see. Sometimes, there are players that just aren't worth it.

They are committing to a player that can sit out all of training camp and preseason.
They are committing to a player that may not be able to play at full speed for a quarter of the season.
They are committing to a player that may sit out some of the year or the entire year.
They are committing to a player that may sit out the entire year and take away the ability to sign a quality RB in his absence because there are NONE available during the season when the jackass may be holding out.

They have opened themselves up to all this because they just aren't willing to let him walk.

Committing to Bell could be THE REASON why this team doesn't win a Super Bowl this year because of what I listed above. This is so much deeper than just salary cap implications. He can literally cripple this team and sabotage the season. And....if they win without him, it only proves they didn't need him in the first place and could have used the money to strengthen other position.

There is probably more bad that can come of this than good.

All of that is logical and supported by sound reasoning. However, I argue that much of it is alarmist.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...ong-term-deal/

Bell by his own admission is going to play. Plus who cares if he sleepwalks through the first few weeks? Tomlin teams start slow and play down to early season competition anyways -- so Bell is just double checking that the team loses a few early in the year.

[Psycho Ward 86]

i read that the fact that bennett is being moved for his cap, the fact that sherman might be cut/traded, and kam/cliff having possibly career ending neck injuries is what is making Thomas a priority to keep for the seahawks. i cant imagine the seahawks will be willing to part with him when theyre already losing so much

[Mojouw]

i read that the fact that bennett is being moved for his cap, the fact that sherman might be cut/traded, and kam/cliff having possibly career ending neck injuries is what is making Thomas a priority to keep for the seahawks. i cant imagine the seahawks will be willing to part with him when theyre already losing so much

He will be a 29 year old Pro Bowl level free agent after this season. No way he resigns with a rebuilding Seahawks. They gotta move him now or risk having him leave for nothing but a comp pick.

That's why I figure a 3rd rounder (equal the comp pick) plus a sweetener (a mediocre safety signed to a manageable contract) would at least keep the 'Hawks on the phone.

[Psycho Ward 86]

He will be a 29 year old Pro Bowl level free agent after this season. No way he resigns with a rebuilding Seahawks. They gotta move him now or risk having him leave for nothing but a comp pick.

That's why I figure a 3rd rounder (equal the comp pick) plus a sweetener (a mediocre safety signed to a manageable contract) would at least keep the 'Hawks on the phone.

id love to try to lure a talent like him but i just dont see it. the seahawks are losing their book end pro bowl pass rushers, and 2 All Pro DB's. i doubt they see the answer as being shipping off one more.

my god what a snag it will be if we make it happen

[Mojouw]

id love to try to lure a talent like him but i just dont see it. the seahawks are losing their book end pro bowl pass rushers, and 2 All Pro DB's. i doubt they see the answer as being shipping off one more.

my god what a snag it will be if we make it happen

Oh, for sure. I'm not sure this rumored firesale and early retirements of Irvin and Chancellor go down, but I do think we are looking at the deconstruction of the Seahawks as we know them. Interesting to see what they do and if the Steelers got Earl Thomas out of the deal....

[Shoes]

All of that is logical and supported by sound reasoning. However, I argue that much of it is alarmist.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...ong-term-deal/

Bell by his own admission is going to play. Plus who cares if he sleepwalks through the first few weeks? Tomlin teams start slow and play down to early season competition anyways -- so Bell is just double checking that the team loses a few early in the year.

But when? According to the "great one" he might not be playing in the first few weeks. I wouldn't waste another minute with this jackass.

“But, no, I’m not going to sit out,” Bell said. “No, I might come week one, I might come week four, I don’t know what week I’m going to come, but I’m going to play this year, though. “I’m going to play, I just don’t know when I’m going to play. But I’m definitely going to play. Hopefully when it comes down to it, we don’t have to deal with that. I mean, hopefully we get a deal done. That’s the biggest thing. We just want to get a deal done. I want to get a deal done, hopefully the Steelers do too. So, if we get it done, we get it done, but if not, then I’ll handle it from there. But I definitely won’t be in camp, It’ll just basically be a rerun of last year.”

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2018/03...lity-week-one/

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

First of all, I knew when the cryhawks had to pay Wilson that the cap would get to them and they would implode. I predict another season with no playoffs for them and the fair weather fans will start focusing on getting a NBA or NHL team next.

Second, I don't see Earl Thomas ending up a Steeler, but I see him wanting out of Seattle, especially the way Chancellor and Sherman negotiations have gone the past couple years. Steelers need to find a safety in the draft IMO.

[fansince'76]

But when? According to the "great one" he might not be playing in the first few weeks. I wouldn't waste another minute with this jackass.

“But, no, I’m not going to sit out,” Bell said. “No, I might come week one, I might come week four, I don’t know what week I’m going to come, but I’m going to play this year, though. “I’m going to play, I just don’t know when I’m going to play. But I’m definitely going to play. Hopefully when it comes down to it, we don’t have to deal with that. I mean, hopefully we get a deal done. That’s the biggest thing. We just want to get a deal done. I want to get a deal done, hopefully the Steelers do too. So, if we get it done, we get it done, but if not, then I’ll handle it from there. But I definitely won’t be in camp, It’ll just basically be a rerun of last year.”

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2018/03...lity-week-one/

Yep, his bullshit is becoming quite tiresome...

[stillers4me]

Yep, his bullshit is becoming quite tiresome...

He's a headcase.

[86WARD]

I'm not trying to be a smart ass either. I'm simply saying that there are always moves to be made if you are aggressive enough.

The Eagles just acquired Michael Bennett and a 7th round draft pick for WR Marcus Johnson and a 5th round draft pick.

I'm not calling for the Steelers to stop the very successful approach of drafting the majority of their talent. I do think there are times like right now where there is a move or two out there that can win this team a Super Bowl if they can just make it happen.

I'll say one more thing about Bell that many just don't seem to see. Sometimes, there are players that just aren't worth it.

They are committing to a player that can sit out all of training camp and preseason.
They are committing to a player that may not be able to play at full speed for a quarter of the season.
They are committing to a player that may sit out some of the year or the entire year.
They are committing to a player that may sit out the entire year and take away the ability to sign a quality RB in his absence because there are NONE available during the season when the jackass may be holding out.

They have opened themselves up to all this because they just aren't willing to let him walk.

Committing to Bell could be THE REASON why this team doesn't win a Super Bowl this year because of what I listed above. This is so much deeper than just salary cap implications. He can literally cripple this team and sabotage the season. And....if they win without him, it only proves they didn't need him in the first place and could have used the money to strengthen other positions.

There is probably more bad that can come of this than good.

To strengthen your point, the Eagles acquired Bennett at $9M over the cap and now are in the process of shedding the money to get them back under...

[86WARD]

Yep, his bullshit is becoming quite tiresome...

It really is. If the guy isn’t going to be realistic, you have to just cut ties and use the money elsewhere. Earl Thomas, Nigel Bradham and Jerrick McKinnon and Isiah Crowell would help the team a bit more than one LeVeon Bell...

[steelreserve]

It really is. If the guy isn’t going to be realistic, you have to just cut ties and use the money elsewhere. Earl Thomas, Nigel Bradham and Jerrick McKinnon and Isiah Crowell would help the team a bit more than one LeVeon Bell...

If we can get a real top-tier defender like Thomas, I would argue that helps the team just as much as Bell. And for less money and with none of the bullshit.

The offense was successful before Bell and it will be successful after Bell, just different. We have options for replacing him.

IMO we ought to treat him as a free agent, in that if someone else comes along that we would be better served spending the money on, then we do that.

[Mojouw]

To strengthen your point, the Eagles acquired Bennett at $9M over the cap and now are in the process of shedding the money to get them back under...

Yeah. But that isn't true. Due to funky cap math and who paid what when to Bennett - the Eagles SAVE money on the only 5 million or so they have to pay Bennett versus the 11 million cap charge Curry carried.

https://247sports.com/nfl/philadelph...ade--115947424

That explains it all better than I can. Point being is that the Eagles are actually shedding salary AND getting better at the position.

[EzraTank]

It really is. If the guy isn’t going to be realistic, you have to just cut ties and use the money elsewhere. Earl Thomas, Nigel Bradham and Jerrick McKinnon and Isiah Crowell would help the team a bit more than one LeVeon Bell...

Great post. Crowell will definitely be available if Cleveland drafts Barkley at #1/4. Plug him into Bell's spot and we don't lose that much considering he would be running/catching behind our line not Cleveland's anymore. Then put the money into Bradham and Thomas on defense and we win #7 next season!

[Fire Goodell]

But when? According to the "great one" he might not be playing in the first few weeks. I wouldn't waste another minute with this jackass.

“But, no, I’m not going to sit out,” Bell said. “No, I might come week one, I might come week four, I don’t know what week I’m going to come, but I’m going to play this year, though. “I’m going to play, I just don’t know when I’m going to play. But I’m definitely going to play. Hopefully when it comes down to it, we don’t have to deal with that. I mean, hopefully we get a deal done. That’s the biggest thing. We just want to get a deal done. I want to get a deal done, hopefully the Steelers do too. So, if we get it done, we get it done, but if not, then I’ll handle it from there. But I definitely won’t be in camp, It’ll just basically be a rerun of last year.”

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2018/03...lity-week-one/

I honestly was hoping they didn't even bother tagging him and let him walk. This dude is toxic and thinks he's bigger than the team.

Use the money on the defense. I don't buy the idea that we need Bell to win a SB. We had Bell for the last 5 years and won nothing. If anything, we lost in the playoffs more than a few times due to having a crappy defense, though.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Seahawks to attempt to trade S Earl Thomas

Update: Michael Silver reporting that the Seahawks are "open for business" regarding trading Earl Thomas.

Tony Pauline reported Tuesday night that the Seahawks will dangle both Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman in trades in the coming weeks. Of the two, Thomas will be easier to deal. He's cheaper, and he's also currently healthy, unlike Sherman, who is coming off a torn Achilles. The team that acquires Thomas will have to sign him to a new, long-term deal, as his contract expires after 2018.

Here are some teams that could trade for Thomas:

Dallas Cowboys: Thomas said it himself. He wants to go to Dallas. The Cowboys don't have much cap space right now, but they can clear a ton by cutting Dez Bryant.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Help is needed in the middle of Pittsburgh's defense. The Steelers lost Ryan Shazier, but their defense will get a huge boost by acquiring Thomas. Martavis Bryant could be involved in the deal.

http://walterfootball.com/nflpossibilities.php

[86WARD]

Yeah. But that isn't true. Due to funky cap math and who paid what when to Bennett - the Eagles SAVE money on the only 5 million or so they have to pay Bennett versus the 11 million cap charge Curry carried.

https://247sports.com/nfl/philadelph...ade--115947424

That explains it all better than I can. Point being is that the Eagles are actually shedding salary AND getting better at the position.

Clearly they’ll be shedding cap space. Right now they haven’t and they are taking salary on before shedding it. They’re further under at the moment but the point is, they aren’t afraid to make the moves knowing they have a plan to get out from under it.