Doug Baldwin had the best season of his career in 2015, finishing with 78 catches for 1,069 yards and 14 touchdowns (all career-highs). Despite the breakout season, the 27-year-old will be playing on only a $4MM base salary in 2016, the final year of his three-year, $13MM deal signed in 2014.
However, the wideout isn’t stressing an extension. In fact, he has faith in general manager John Schneider and the Seahawks front office to get a deal done in a timely manner. If it doesn’t? Baldwin’s still ready to perform.
“If I continue to work hard, if I continue to strive to get better and not focus on things money oriented, it’s eventually going to come,” he told ESPN.com’s Jim Trotter. “And even if it doesn’t, I’m fine with that, too, because at the end of the day, I’m controlling what I can control. That’s all God gave me, was the tools to control what I can control. If it doesn’t work out the way that I want it to work out, that to me is just God telling me that He has a better plan.”
Of course, Baldwin hinted that a deal could be coming soon.
“John pretty much told me that the offer was going to come after the draft,” he said. “Even if it doesn’t come, I’m not worried about it. Why not? Because there are other things I value in life. I don’t value worrying about that.”
Let’s check out some more notes from around the league on this Monday evening…
- The NFL will investigate the Ravens use of full pads at a recent rookie minicamp, reports ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley. While one team official said they were unaware of the reports, they did note that rookies used pads for a “non-contact punt protection drill,” which would seemingly contradict the collective bargaining agreement. However, the team official said the organization believed those rookie minicamp rules did not apply to OTAs.
- Ravens star Terrell Suggs‘ pre-trial conference for his March one-car accident in Arizona was held today, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
- Ravens outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith will now be represented by SportsTrust Advisors, according to Liz Mullen of SBJ (on Twitter).
- Undrafted Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams is likely on his way to the CFL, as John Keim of ESPN.com writes. “I could be like a Warren Moon or Doug Flutie,” he said of former NFL quarterbacks who played in the CFL. “All I need is a chance. … If they can stop looking at my height and give me a chance they’d get a teammate with a lot of energy and a great leader.” Adams’ rights are owned by the B.C. Lions.
- The Saints asked linebacker Chris Weatherd to participate in the team’s veteran’s minicamp in June, tweets Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com. The Tennessee product participated in the organization’s rookie minicamp this past weekend.
Zach Links contributed to this post.