Seahawks’ Michael Bennett reportedly dumps agent

Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett is changing agents, according to a report from Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal. Mullen’s tweet on Wednesday night stated that Bennett is without an agent after leaving Rosenhaus Sports Representation, which is headed by Drew Rosenhaus.

Knowing what exactly that means for Bennett and the Seahawks is impossible in the absence of more information.

Here’s what we do know:

• Bennett made it clear last offseason that he’s unhappy with the four-year, $28.5 million contract he signed after the 2013 season. The annual average of $7.125 million is 18th among NFL defensive ends, according to the website Spotrac.com. Bennett justifiably feels underpaid based on where his compensation ranks compared to his peers. However …

• Bennett’s contract has two years remaining, and whether it’s a strong preference or a hard-and-fast rule, Seahawks general manager John Schneider has talked about not wanting to set a precedent by giving a new contract to a player with more than one season left on his current deal. That was his stated reasoning for not giving running back Marshawn Lynch a new contract in the summer of 2013, at which point he was only halfway through a four-year deal.

• Bennett did just about everything the Seahawks could have asked of a player who is unhappy with his contract. He reported to training camp after considering a holdout then played as well as he ever has, posting career-highs with 10 sacks and 52 tackles en route to his first Pro Bowl selection. Strong safety Kam Chancellor, on the other hand, held out from training until the first two games of the season then missed three more with an injury.

Brock Huard, Mike Salk and John Clayton tried to read the tea leaves on Bennett’s agent change during the first hour of “Brock and Salk” on Thursday. Mike Salk sees it as a potentially positive step, suggesting that it could give the two sides a fresh start in whatever negotiations they have by removing what may have been a road-block to a new deal.

Clayton, on the other hand, said a new deal with the Seahawks right now seems like a non-starter no matter which agent Bennett hires to do the asking. He cited the bad-precedent argument as his reasoning.

Another possible – though not necessarily likely – outcome with the Bennett situation is a trade to a team that would give him a new deal. Perhaps Bennett feels a different agent could better explore that possibility.

But those are all just guesses at this point. Maybe Bennett will set the record straight at some point, which he wasn’t shy about doing last offseason.