Russell Wilson’s contract standoff is about Seahawks’ structure

Does Russell Wilson want to be part of this team?

That’s not an accusation, but an honest question. One that cuts to the gooey center of his negotiation for an extension quicker than a 16-page presentation or a “no comment” from Seattle’s general manager.

The question isn’t about his affection for the franchise. He loves being a Seahawk (“Go Hawks!”). And it’s not about his connection to the city.

O’Neil: Amid contract uncertainty, Russell Wilson is harder than ever to read

The question is whether Wilson wants to remain a cog in this team whose strength is its defense and whose offense passes less often than any other team. Wilson will be the most expensive cog on the team, but he’ll be a cog. A big part of the whole. The biggest part of the whole. But not the whole show.

That is the best way to understand where the negotiations currently stand between the Seahawks and their quarterback. Because for all the talk about value and comparable deals and franchise tags, the gap between the two sides really comes down to Seattle’s roster construction and team orientation.

The Seahawks don’t want to be a team built around their quarterback in the same way that the Colts were under Peyton Manning and will be under Andrew Luck. They aren’t going to turn the team over to Wilson in the same way that the Packers belonged to Brett Favre and now to Aaron Rodgers.

You can spend all the time you want debating whether Wilson would be capable of leading that kind of offense, but none of that would change the fact that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll doesn’t want to switch the format.

And that – more than anything – explains the contractual standoff.

The Seahawks are willing to offer an extension that is in line with the deals other top-shelf quarterbacks have gotten, but not at another level. They’ll give Wilson way more certainty and guarantees than the Dolphins offered Ryan Tannehill and a quicker path back to the bargaining table than the Panthers gave Cam Newton. In fact, Seattle’s offer is in the same neighborhood of what Ben Roethlisberger got from Pittsburgh and could wind up in the same cul de sac, but the Seahawks so far haven’t been willing to bankroll a new development up on the Quarterback Plateau.

The reason has nothing to do with respect or appreciation or market value and everything to do with the structure of the team and the financial constraints imposed by the salary cap.

Seattle wants its defense to remain the backbone of the team while the running game is like a powerful jab that will serve as the lead punch. In this analogy, Wilson is the knockout blow. The quarterback who can make something out of nothing, excels at throwing the deep ball and is able to avoid the interceptions that his coach is allergic to.

The Seahawks have more Pro Bowlers to pay than other teams if they’re going to preserve their blueprint, though. Not just because they have more talent currently on hand and under contract than teams like Miami and Carolina, but because the Seahawks don’t want their quarterback to carry as much weight as a player like Rodgers is currently shouldering in Green Bay or Luck will in Indianapolis.

So does Wilson want to be part of a team like that? Again, it’s a question, not an accusation and it’s understandable – admirable even – if Wilson chafes at the idea of not getting a better deal than those of other top-shelf quarterbacks without ever getting the chance to show that he can do as much or more than them.

Wilson’s entire career has been built upon not just overcoming doubts, but squishing them, from the time as a redshirt freshman at North Carolina State when he started fall camp third or maybe even fourth on the depth chart and earned the starting job to when he transferred from the school after refusing to let the coach force him into foregoing a season of professional baseball.

A third-round pick in 2012, Wilson has shown he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league. And the Seahawks are willing to give him a contract that’s comparable to some of the best.

They aren’t willing to give him the best deal, though. Not this summer, which will leave Wilson with a choice of whether to take the Seahawks’ best offer, thereby signing off on the role they see him playing on this team or start down a path aimed at reaching the open market years from now to see what he would be worth to another franchise.

The Seahawks have made their decision on where Wilson fits into their bigger picture, and the longer this negotiation goes on, the closer Wilson comes to making his decision on where this team fits in his bigger picture.

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