Seahawks general manager John Schneider appeared on The Brock and Salk Show on 710 ESPN Seattle today, and while the GM was careful not to reveal much, he did discuss his two offensive stars in the interview, hinting at what their futures may entail. Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times rounded up a few of Schneider’s key quotes, so let’s check out the highlights:
- The Seahawks still aren’t sure whether or not Marshawn Lynch wants to play next season, according to Schneider. The team hopes he’ll make a decision soon, so that the front office can move forward on offseason plans, but the GM admitted that he knows Lynch’s decision “may not happen overnight.”
- If Lynch does return, he almost certainly won’t be playing on the same contract, says Schneider, which makes sense, given recent reports about possible extension talks between the Seahawks and the veteran running back. Seattle was reluctant to make any changes to Lynch’s contract last summer when he was holding out, but is more inclined to rework it now that there’s just one year left instead of two.
- Asked about a contract extension for quarterback Russell Wilson, Schneider declined to comment on specifics, but said, “Russell knows there are certain dominoes that have to fall into place…. He knows. He gets it. He wants to win for a long time.” While that’s a little cryptic, it’s a hint that Wilson is willing to structure his new deal in a way that doesn’t hamper the team’s cap flexibility. We had previously heard that negotiations on an extension for Wilson were expected to begin right after the Super Bowl, and that a new contract could make him the highest-paid QB in the NFL. Schneider confirmed that he has already started talking to the young signal-caller’s agent.
- Despite losing this year’s Super Bowl, the Seahawks “have a shot to be a championship-caliber team for a long time,” in Schneider’s view. “I just have the confidence in the coaching staff and everybody that we have upstairs that we are going to get this thing back on track,” he said.