DANNY ONEIL

‘Hawk Talk’ highlights: Will Seahawks actually not extend Doug Baldwin’s deal?

Jun 1, 2016, 12:52 PM

Danny O'Neil says there could still be roadblocks to extending Doug Baldwin's contract. (AP)...

Danny O'Neil says there could still be roadblocks to extending Doug Baldwin's contract. (AP)

(AP)

Danny O’Neil hosted a live Seahawks chat on Tuesday as “Hawk Talk” continues into the offseason. Here’s the transcript. Highlights are below.

Belfasthawk read between the lines and noted that O’Neil doesn’t seem convinced that a Doug Baldwin contract extension is a foregone conclusion.

Danny O’Neil: I do not. The one piece of evidence that would point to it being very feasible is that two years ago the sides reached an extension when Baldwin had even less leverage. That points to the fact that Baldwin is willing to recognize that there’s a tradeoff between getting a bigger deal now and commanding what he might get if he reached the open market. But here are the difficulties that I foresee in the negotiation: Given how much Seattle paid to Percy Harvin, and compared with Baldwin’s production, does he feel he deserves the kind of contracts usually signed to top-flight, No. 1 receivers? Does Seattle’s run-first philosophy temper the amount Seattle’s willing to pay? More than anything, I’ve always wondered whether Doug Baldwin will fall victim to what kept Bobby Engram from getting a big-money deal, which is that he’s more valuable to Seattle than he is to any other team. That’s exactly the kind of player that can get squeezed in the free-agent era because teams can tend to look and say, “What would you get on the open market” to determine what the offer is.

12s forever asks about why Danny doesn’t interrogate head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider about their contract situations.

Danny O’Neil: That’s a fair question, but I’ll say this: The toughest sounding questions tend to get the poorest answers. And in Pete Carroll’s case, I don’t think you can ask him a question about his contract that evokes an answer that’s any more revealing than what he has said so far, which is that he’s fine. The contracts for both Pete and John are an issue. But reporters don’t have subpoena power. There isn’t a judge there to force the witness to answer the question.

SeaHokie mentioned that Carroll and Scheider appear to enjoy working for owner Paul Allen, which should help keep them with the team.

Danny O’Neil: It certainly does. My belief is that there’s only one possibility that could lure Schneider away and that would be if there was a chance to run Green Bay. Obviously, that’s not something that’s available right now. For Pete, I simply don’t expect that he’s going to take another head-coaching job in the NFL. I don’t know how he goes back and starts from scratch as opposed to trying to get everything out of this current group that he can. I mean, he’s not going to go rebuild another franchise quicker than this one.

Stevo inquired about the state of the Seahawks’ running back group.

Danny O’Neil: I think it’s a largely untested group. I mean, they have a total of seven combined career starts, all of which belong to Thomas Rawls who’s coming back from injury. But I think it’s an intriguing group of players. My biggest question: Are they going to keep a fullback? Or is it moving away from that. My current thoughts are: Rawls, (C.J.) Prosise and Alex Collins on very solid footing. I think Zac Brooks will be competing with Christine Michael for the roster spot, and the question will be FB.

Original 12 asked if Chris Clemons is a bubble player.

Danny O’Neil: I believe so, yes. He did get a signing bonus though it was for about $150,000, I believe. I don’t think he’s etched on the team.

Tom Page wonders whether Jarran Reed will be an upgrade over Brandon Mebane.

Danny O’Neil: Short-term: No. Long-term: Yes. Hard to expect Reed to be better immediately than Mebane, who was an anchor for so many years. Long term, I believe that Reed will be better and might even offer some pass-rush upside.

Bruce wanted to know if Earl Thomas’ portrayal of Richard Sherman as a “nerd” is accurate.

Danny O’Neil: He’s a nerd in the best way. One of the most interesting athletes I’ve ever covered because he’s so good at communicating what he wants to.

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‘Hawk Talk’ highlights: Will Seahawks actually not extend Doug Baldwin’s deal?