Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett did not show up for the team’s voluntary OTAs in the spring, and as PFR’s Ben Levine wrote last month, that absence was the result of Bennett’s displeasure with his current contract. Although Bennett just signed a four-year deal in March 2014, the average annual value of that deal, $7.125MM, ranks him 14th among 4-3 defensive ends. And, since Bennett recorded seven sacks in 2014 and was the second-best player at his position group per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), he believes he has outplayed his contract.

According to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, Bennett may consider holding out of training camp in the hopes of reworking his deal. Bennett, who makes his offseason home in Honolulu, told Honolulu television station KHON2, “Of course, I think I’ve outplayed the contract that they gave me. It’s one of those things where you have to let your agent (Drew Rosenhaus) do the talking with the team and hopefully something good comes out of it. It never hurts to try.”

As Condotta points out, however, Bennett did show up for Seattle’s mandatory minicamp last week, so odds are good that he will report for training camp as well. Furthermore, players can be fined up to $30,000 per day for holding out, and even though the team is not required to actually assess those fines once a player ultimately reports, Bennett does have some financial incentive to show up for camp.

Therefore, Condotta believes that Bennett’s recent comments are simply designed to let the team know that he remains unhappy with his contract. It is well-established that the Seahawks do not rework deals with more than a year left, so, as Condotta writes, “Almost no one thinks Bennett has any real chance of getting a new deal from the Seahawks.” Marshawn Lynch, whose contract situation was discussed ad nauseum last year, was able to get his deal partially reworked, but his holdout did not result in a full renegotiation.

And it is unlikely that Bennett will get even a reworking of his deal. He has been an important piece of the team’s success in each of the past two seasons, but with three years left on his contract, the Seahawks, who will soon be committing a significant portion of their salary cap to Russell Wilson, simply have no incentive to revisit the matter. If his 2015 performance matches what he did in 2014, then perhaps Bennett will find the team a bit more willing to talk.

It was only a year ago that defensive end Michael Bennett inked a new four-year, $28.5MM contract (including $16MM guaranteed) with the Seahawks. Now the 29-year-old is seeking a new deal.

Bennett told Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times that he’s asked the Seahawks organization for a new contract, and his absence from OTAs is an attempt to force the matter:

“Trying to get the contract right,’’ Bennett told Condotta. “I’ll be there shortly. I don’t know when I’ll be there. Depends on the team and stuff. See how it works out.

“Somewhere near the top seven at my position, top eight at my position. Not a lot of guys play inside and out (meaning both tackle and end). Not a lot of guys do what I do. So I feel like I should be somewhere near there… I just want to be in the realm of the guys that play like me. There are only so many guys that do what I do, and I would love to be like somewhere in there where they are at.’’

This echoes previous comments from the former undrafted free agent, who said he wouldn’t mind an increase in salary. This would also seemingly contradict a previous report that suggested that Bennett wanted out of Seattle. Bennett reaffirmed that he wants to stay in Seattle.

“I see myself being with the Seahawks. I think we have something special here and the things that we do in the community, the players that we have and the team and the coaches. I think it’s a great organization. But at the end of the day, it’s all about the business part of it, and sometimes people see your value as something else and sometimes you see your value as something different, and it’s just part of the business…We’ll see what happens. The ideal situation would be that I get a raise and that will be something great.’’

As Condotta notes, Bennett’s $7.125MM average annual value ranks him 14th among 4-3 defensive ends. The defensive lineman finished last season with 26 tackles and seven sacks, and he placed second among eligible 4-3 defensive ends in Pro Football Focus’ ranking of the position (subscription required).