BRADY HENDERSON

Schneider says Seahawks haven’t decided on Irvin’s fifth-year option

Apr 22, 2015, 4:33 PM | Updated: Apr 23, 2015, 9:34 am

Seattle has until May 3 to pick up Bruce Irvin’s fifth-year option, which would pay him $7.8 ...

Seattle has until May 3 to pick up Bruce Irvin's fifth-year option, which would pay him $7.8 million in 2016. (AP)

(AP)

RENTON – The Seahawks have until May 3 to exercise linebacker Bruce Irvin’s fifth-year option, and from the sounds of it they’re going to take all the time available.

General manager John Schneider said Wednesday that the team hasn’t made a decision on Irvin’s option, which if picked up would add another year onto his rookie deal at a price tag of $7.8 million for the 2016 season.

More Seahawks personnel notes from John Schneider’s press conference

Fifth-year options were implemented in 2011 with the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, giving teams the ability to add another year to the rookie contracts of first-round picks at a predetermined price based on position.

But whereas last year that decision had to be made before the draft, the deadline is now the day after. That means a team can re-assess its roster based on the players it just drafted before making a decision.

Schneider was asked if that’s helpful.

“Completely,” he said.

Schneider later clarified that it’s helpful for teams in general and not necessarily with Seattle’s decision on Irvin, which, as Danny O’Neil wrote about earlier this month, isn’t necessarily a no-brainer.

The case for: It’s a one-year commitment at an affordable price for what has become a solid and perhaps ascending linebacker that can also rush the passer.

The case against: It would set a baseline for the annual average on a multi-year deal, which may not be financially feasible for the Seahawks given the money they already have committed to K.J. Wright and presumably will commit to Bobby Wagner, with whom the team has begun negotiating an extension.

One thing we do know, though, is there’s no harm in waiting until the last minute to make the decision on Irvin’s fifth-year option, which in this case is a day after the draft.

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Schneider says Seahawks haven’t decided on Irvin’s fifth-year option