Seahawks’ Michael Bennett hints at departure
Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett hinted at a possible departure following the team’s playoff loss to the Panthers.
The Seattle Seahawks’ season came to an end Sunday when they lost to the Carolina Panthers on the road. After representing the NFC in the Super Bowl the previous two seasons, there will be someone else representing the conference this season.
With the Seahawks back in territory that they haven’t been in for a while, they now have big decisions ahead of them. One of those big decisions will be cap casualties.
With the bevy of free agents Seattle has, things will be interesting in how they approach shoring up a little more cash for the off-season.
After the Seahawks were eliminated by Carolina, defensive end Michael Bennett had some interesting comments about the team not going back to the Super Bowl and potentially hinted at his future.
How did Michael Bennett describe ending the season today, first time in 3 yrs not at Super Bowl? "Like a divorce." #seahawks
— Britt McHenry (@BrittMcHenry) January 17, 2016
The team is currently slated to have 31 free agents and with just $30 million in space at the moment to spend. While $30 million is a lot for most teams, things are different for a team like Seattle, with plenty of players to pay after they locked up a ton of money in their secondary and Russell Wilson.
Bennett is currently on the hook with a cap hit of $7 million in 2016 and $9.5 million in 2017. While he has been a huge voice in the locker room for Seattle, they also have depth along the defensive line and could figure to go with a cheaper and younger option.
This past off-season also had plenty of rumors of Bennett wanting a new deal like some of his teammates and there were also rumors of him wanting to be dealt from Seattle. With the tight cap space, Seattle will have with so many free agents, it doesn’t seem like Bennett getting new money is a likely option.
That’s why his comments seem like Bennett sees the writing in the wall.