2011年1月13日星期四

14 Jan 11 Seattle Seahawks "Still looking around, but it's not September yet"

The Seahawks struck out in their offseason attempts to acquire a veteran guard and had to settle for 35-year-old Marcus Pollard at tight end, but they might get a few more swings at those positions before the season starts.As they showed last year -- when they acquired fullback Josh Parry just before the season and New England Patriots jersey
receiver Deion Branch after Week 1 -- the Seahawks aren't afraid to step up to the plate and make deals to enhance their roster in September. And they've certainly gotten a few pitches to look at recently.As far back as April, the Seahawks were reported to be interested in San Francisco guard Justin Smiley; and, in the last week or so, the team has been rumored to like Chicago defensive end Alex Brown and Detroit guard Damien Woody. The problem with Smiley and Brown is that their teams want second-round draft picks for them. In addition, both would like new contracts. Smiley would have cost the Seahawks about $7 million per year. The Seahawks expressed interest in Smiley in April, but there has been no further talk of a trade since then. And it doesn't look like there will be. The interest in Brown was probably just a result of casual talks between Seahawks president Tim Ruskell and Chicago General Manager Jerry Angelo, who once worked together in Tampa Bay. Brown is a steady player who seems to be a younger version (28) of the Seahawks' Bryce Fisher (30), whose contract is up after the 2008 season. Brown is a good rotational player who plays the run and pass well; he had seven sacks in 2006, when Seattle got a good look at him as it played the Bears twice.Brown asked the Bears if he could seek a trade because he wanted to see if he could find a better contract than the one that is scheduled to pay him $595,000 this year, $550,000 in 2008 and $670,000 in 2009. The Bears prefer not to trade Brown, their fourth-round pick from 2002, which is why they are asking such a high price of any potential suitors."It's not the Bears. They don't want to get rid of me," Brown told reporters last month. "It's just that I want to see what else is out there."But as long as the Bears demand a second-rounder for him, no team "out there" is going to be interested.While the Bears don't want to get rid of Brown, the Lions might end up dumping Woody even if they can't find a trade partner. The Lions allegedly were talking to the Seahawks about sending New Orleans Saints jersey
Woody to Seattle for a seventh-round pick, but the Seahawks don't have such a pick next year because they sent it to Philadelphia for fullback Josh Parry last September. If Seattle did decide to get Woody, it would probably be for a conditional pick or a seventh-rounder in 2009. Woody was a first-round pick by the New England Patriots in 1999, but his performance has not matched the six-year, $31 million deal he signed with the Lions in 2004. In fact, this offseason he checked into Duke University's famed weight-loss center and dropped about 30 pounds. At 347, he is still about 20 pounds heavier than he wants to play at in 2007. And weight is not the only thing he will have to reduce. Whether he stays in Detroit or goes to Seattle, Woody surely will have to rework his contract, which is slated to pay him $4.5 million this year, $4.75 million in 2008 and $5.75 million in 2009.If the Seahawks could get him cheap -- both in compensation to the Lions and in salary -- Woody would be a low-risk gamble to add depth to a line that is currently plagued by injuries and instability.Another guard on the potential trading block is Pittsburgh All-Pro Alan Faneca, who has expressed his displeasure with the Steelers for not extending a deal that will pay about $3.4 million this year and expire after the season. Faneca, a six-time Pro Bowl guard, will command top dollar, which means at least $7 million per year. And the Steelers surely would want a high pick for him as well, which is why he probably is not even a gleam in the eye of the Seahawks. One guy who could be available is Green Bay tight end Bubba Franks, who has been demoted by coach Mike McCarthy in the wake of Franks' worst NFL season (25 catches in 2006). It wouldn't be surprising to see Franks traded or cut, and the Seahawks could use another pass-catching tight end to go with Pollard. Of course, age (29) and salary ($1.4 million) could deter Seattle from considering Franks -- assuming the Seahawks even thought the seven-year veteran could still play. All of the aforementioned New York Giants jersey
players are merely rumors and speculation at this point. But the Seahawks showed last year that they aren't averse to making deals late in the offseason, and even though all of the recent trade rumors don't seem to be going anywhere at the moment ... it's not September yet.Where there's never an offseason for NFL football! Tell your friends about us

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