RENTON — As has often been the case for the past month, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider had to address the latest Monday about star cornerback Richard Sherman and his future.
From Schneider’s position, nothing the Seahawks have heard thus far leads him to believe that Sherman will be traded.
“Right now we’ve kind of moved past it and if somebody calls and goes crazy with something then we’ll discuss it again,” Schneider said. “I don’t mean go crazy, but you know what I mean. Like, give you compensation where it’s something where you really, truly have to think about it and consider it, then we would have to consider it. And we could consider it because, like I said, it’s been a mutual thing. It’s OK. And we feel like it would clear cap room and we would be able to get younger, but that’s the only reason we’d do it. I mean, the guy’s one of the top cornerbacks in the league. You don’t just give him away.”
The Sherman situation has hung over the Seahawks since Schneider first acknowledged last month that the club had trade discussions with other teams regarding the outspoken, former All-Pro cornerback. Those discussions came after a season during which some of Sherman’s actions — namely a pair of sideline blowups directed at assistant coaches — seemed to take precedence over his play on the field.
Schneider didn’t completely shut the door on a possible deal, but said any deadline for getting a trade done is likely now with the NFL draft just days away. Sherman, along with safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, were at the team’s facility Monday for the second week of offseason workouts.
Sherman has spent his entire career in Seattle, developing from an overlooked fifth-round pick into one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL. He is due $11.4 million in guaranteed salary for the 2017 season and has one year remaining on his current contract.
“People say, ‘Well why do you have your business out in the open or whatever?’ It was basically already out there, people had been talking about it, there had been rumors out there, we have had conversations with teams,” Schneider said. “But it’s just he’s at a good place. He’s here today working, Earl’s here, Kam’s here. So we are all just at a very good place and it’s one of those things that if it works out, it works out. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out and everybody is OK with it right now.”
Schneider also said that it’s his understanding that Marshawn Lynch’s representatives are still talking with the Oakland Raiders about a deal that could land the currently retired running back with his hometown team. Schneider expects some clarity on that situation with the draft this week.
“I would think (Raiders GM) Reggie (McKenzie) would want to go into the draft knowing that they have another runner or not,” Schneider said.
