Major changes could soon be on the way for Seattle’s star-studded secondary, a staple during the team’s run of five straight double-digit win seasons and an integral part of its 13-3, Super Bowl-winning 2013 campaign.
Cornerback Richard Sherman and the safety tandem of Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor have consistently been the best players in Seattle’s famed Legion of Boom defensive backfield throughout the club’s half-decade of excellence, but the futures of each have either come into question recently or will over the next year. Sherman has been the subject of trade rumors of late and is reportedly at the center of a rift with key members of the organization; Thomas considered retirement after a broken tibia ended his season last December; and Chancellor is scheduled to become a free agent in a little under 10 months.
With both Sherman and Thomas signed through 2018, determining what to do with Chancellor will be general manager John Schneider‘s most pressing matter leading up to next offseason. The strong safety is set to wrap up a four-year, $28MM contract – a deal that led to earlier disharmony between him and the Seahawks. Chancellor, seeking a raise back in 2015, held out through the summer and didn’t return to the team until Week 3 of the season. That came after the Seahawks refused to upgrade Chancellor’s contract and even went so far as to dock him upward of $1MM for the time he missed.
Whatever ill will may have existed between the two sides faded, though, as Chancellor actually expressed happiness with his situation last June. Chancellor then went on to rack up 85 tackles and two interceptions over 12 games in an injury-shortened season, and though he went without a Pro Bowl nod for the first time since 2012, he did rank as Pro Football Focus’ third-best safety among 90 qualifiers. Since then, head coach Pete Carroll has suggested that the Seahawks would like to extend Chancellor, and Schneider seemed to imply the same in an interview with KJR-AM in Seattle earlier this month.
“We have several guys that we will get to,” said Schneider (via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta). “We want to be able to take care of our team and he’s obviously a huge part of that.”
If the two sides do discuss an extension, the four-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro will seek elite money relative to his position. Chancellor, who already paces all strong safeties in cap hit (~$8.04MM) and base salary ($6.8MM), saw a similarly aged star at his position – the Dolphins’ Reshad Jones – cash in earlier this offseason. Jones, despite having missed 10 games in 2016, landed a four-year, $48MM extension with just under $20MM fully guaranteed in March.
Both Chancellor and Jones were fifth-round picks in the 2010 draft, and they’ve turned into top-caliber defensive backs with similar traditional numbers since becoming starters as NFL sophomores. Dating back to 2011, Chancellor has started in all 84 appearances, averaged 6.87 tackles per game, and totaled 12 interceptions and seven forced fumbles. Jones has started in all 78 outings over the same span, piling up fewer tackles (5.54 per game) but notching more picks (15) and returning three for touchdowns. The Dolphin also has a clear edge in sacks (eight to one), but he has forced five fewer fumbles (three).
Whether Chancellor is better than Jones is up for debate. It’s inarguable, though, that Chancellor is a premier safety who has a case for a Jones-type payday. However, forking over that type of cash to a player on the cusp of his 30s – one who hasn’t played a full season since 2013 – might give the Seahawks pause. With Sherman and Thomas also nearing their 30s and potentially their own trips to the open market, Schneider is going to have to decide soon which (if any) to commit to for the long haul. It seems unrealistic to expect all three to remain in Seattle on huge contracts as they continue to age, which means the clock is likely ticking on the team’s iconic secondary.
Money money and more money