No sooner had the Seahawks added a linebacker to their roster by drafting Aaron Curry than they subtracted one, pulling the franchise tag from Leroy Hill and making him an unrestricted free agent.
Why would the Seahawks do that? It's a question that certainly merits exploring.
First, it certainly reflects the fact negotiations had not been moving toward a long-term agreement and were most likely headed in the opposite direction.
Second, it frees up $8.3 million in salary-cap space, providing the Seahawks with flexibility should they want to sign a veteran -- cough, cough, Ken Lucas, cough, cough. We could find out the answer to that sooner rather than later.
The long-term effects are the bigger question now. President Tim Ruskell has stated the team still hopes to agree to a long-term contract with Hill, but Seattle also played contractual hardball with him, designating him a franchise player at the start of free agency -- when teams had money to spend -- and pulling the tag off two months later when millions of free-agent dollars have been doled out elsewhere. Are there any hard feelings that must be bridged for Hill to sign a long-term deal with Seattle.
Hill had the option of signing the franchise tender when the Seahawks applied it to him. He chose not to, which retains some leverage. He was not under contract and would not be subject to any fines for not participating in mandatory offseason camps or even training camp. But not signing the tender also gave the Seahawks the option of rescinding that offer -- and the $8.3 million salary that went with it -- much like the Philadelphia Eagles did with Corey Simon a few years ago.
So the removal of the tag sets up the possibility that momre dominoes will fall in the acquisition of a veteran. It also risks the possibility Seattle will lose Hill to another team without receiving any compensation.
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Second, it frees up $8.3 million in salary-cap space, providing the Seahawks with flexibility should they want to sign a veteran -- cough, cough, Ken Lucas, cough, cough. We could find out the answer to that sooner rather than later.
Seahawks signed CB Ken Lucas, formerly of the Panthers. Lucas made 32 consecutive starts in Carolina between 2007-2008, but his man cover skills are fading as he enters his 30s. He's also lost some of his playmaking abilities. Still, Seattle will use more zone concepts under new coach Jim Mora and Lucas' sure tackling will come in handy. He'll battle Josh Wilson and Kelly Jennings to start at RCB opposite Marcus Trufant.
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I actually really like the move to drop the franchise tag on Leroy Hill. Not because I don't want him on the team--I really want him back--but because the tag was just causing delays in a new deal. Dropping it removes his ability to sign the tender and then draw talks out way into preseason. He needs to be in camp now because the defensive scheme is new this year and if he ends up behind he'll be ineffective in 2009 and we'll wonder why we spent so much on him.
I think Ruskell finally had an offseason we can be proud of. It might only be trumped by 2010...thanks Denver.
biju wrote:I actually really like the move to drop the franchise tag on Leroy Hill. Not because I don't want him on the team--I really want him back--but because the tag was just causing delays in a new deal. Dropping it removes his ability to sign the tender and then draw talks out way into preseason. He needs to be in camp now because the defensive scheme is new this year and if he ends up behind he'll be ineffective in 2009 and we'll wonder why we spent so much on him.
I think Ruskell finally had an offseason we can be proud of. It might only be trumped by 2010...thanks Denver.
hell ya. i was livid at first when i read this article. but after i figured out they still planned on keeping him it actually came across as a great idea. Our LB corpse should be as strong as ever, our DLine got better our 2ndary got a little upgrade, atleast some competition and Unger could very well start on the OLine this year. Not to mention we got Housh and 2 first round picks next year. Id be very suprised if we werent contenders for the west next year
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Leroy Hill isn't worth $9 million a season, that's why the dropped the tender. They only kept him around because they lost Peterson to add Redding in the offseason. If they lost Hill as well, that's 2/3 of the LB corps on a potential playoff team. With Curry now in tow, Hill is worth a lot less to Seattle and he was never worth the franchise price to any other team in the NFL. I think we can see Hill sign for substantially less than the franchise with a multi-year deal if he wants to stick around (maybe 5-6 million a year), maybe slightly more somewhere else.
Kensat30 wrote:Leroy Hill isn't worth $9 million a season, that's why the dropped the tender. They only kept him around because they lost Peterson to add Redding in the offseason. If they lost Hill as well, that's 2/3 of the LB corps on a potential playoff team. With Curry now in tow, Hill is worth a lot less to Seattle and he was never worth the franchise price to any other team in the NFL. I think we can see Hill sign for substantially less than the franchise with a multi-year deal if he wants to stick around (maybe 5-6 million a year), maybe slightly more somewhere else.
Exactly.
We had 6 years and $36M on the table at one point and that wasn't accepted by his side. With the tender removed now, I'm guessing we could get that deal through for even a little less now. At least I'm hoping that's the case as he really is a great young LB and I'd hate to see him go elsewhere, but if he's going to drive an impossible deal he's gonna get chased out of town. Our top priority should be to quickly sign Curry now...
Kensat30 wrote:Leroy Hill isn't worth $9 million a season, that's why the dropped the tender. They only kept him around because they lost Peterson to add Redding in the offseason. If they lost Hill as well, that's 2/3 of the LB corps on a potential playoff team. With Curry now in tow, Hill is worth a lot less to Seattle and he was never worth the franchise price to any other team in the NFL. I think we can see Hill sign for substantially less than the franchise with a multi-year deal if he wants to stick around (maybe 5-6 million a year), maybe slightly more somewhere else.
Exactly.
We had 6 years and $36M on the table at one point and that wasn't accepted by his side. With the tender removed now, I'm guessing we could get that deal through for even a little less now. At least I'm hoping that's the case as he really is a great young LB and I'd hate to see him go elsewhere, but if he's going to drive an impossible deal he's gonna get chased out of town. Our top priority should be to quickly sign Curry now...
I'd like to see him signed too and think this may work out just fine. But at the same time, I wouldn't break the bank for him and a guy like Derrick Brooks on a 1 or 2 year deal isn't a bad fall-back option either.
Seattle should now win this division going away. That defense should be very good this upcoming season. Hasselbeck getting healthy is the only thing seperating this team from 8 wins and 10-12. And 8 wins may very well be enough to take it this year.
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by DemonDeacon » Sun Apr 26, 2009 7:45 pm 
