The Seattle Seahawks have made it official; strong safety Kam Chancellor will not be playing Week 1 against the St. Louis Rams. Seattle head coach Pete Carroll stated in Wednesday’s press conference that because Chancellor is has not been with the team throughout OTAs and training camp, he will not be playing, per Rand Getlin of NFL Network.
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Chancellor has been holding out for more money, something general manager John Schneider seems completely against. Chancellor is entering the third year of a five-year, $30 million deal, something that has easily been eclipsed by Earl Thomas, Jairus Byrd and Devin McCourty since then. Chancellor likely wants to get near the $10 million per year clip, but does not have much leverage.
Should he continue to hold out, Chancellor faces the possibility of being traded. Of course, the market for him is thin considering that a team would not only have to trade off multiple high draft picks, but would also need to pay him what he is looking for. In other words, it could be a long time before we see Chancellor on a football field.
Without Chancellor in the lineup, Seattle is missing one of the most complete players in the NFL. Chancellor can both play in man-coverage against a running back or tight end, and also come up into the box and play the run. The Seahawks will now have to rely on Dion Bailey, an unproven youngster. Bailey will have the comfort of lining up next to All-Pro free safety Earl Thomas, who is coming back from shoulder surgery.
This situation will be resolved one way or the other by Week 10. If Chancellor does not at least come back for the final six games, he can’t get another year towards free agency.
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