The Seattle Seahawks are working to bring back Marshawn Lynch on a new contract this offseason and as they try and sign Russell Wilson to an extension, the team may target free agents like Cary Williams, Jeremy Maclin and Julius Thomas along with Byron Maxwell, who they hope will return to the secondary in 2015.
The Seahawks lost the Super Bowl in devastating fashion and now the team is trying to keep its best players happy into 2015. Lynch is the priority right now, as the Seahawks want to bring him back on a new contract over the deal he signed before last year. According to ESPN.com, Lynch has not made a final decision on coming back yet and reports say that he is also considering retiring due to back pain. Pete Carroll said to reporters he did not believe Lynch would retire and said he hopes he is back next season.
Earlier in the season there were reports that the Seahawks were not going to bring back Lynch next season, but that has all changed since the Super Bowl. According to Yahoo Sports, the team made an offer to Lynch that would pay him over $10 million next year, but they have not reached an agreement yet on a contract. Yahoo reports that the deal would pay him $9 million in 2016 and could be a three year contract, but Lynch's agent says no deal is yet in place.
Lynch was diplomatic after not getting the ball at the end of the Super Bowl, but he admitted in an interview in Turkey that he was expecting to get the ball. Either way, the team wants him back and now they are working on a contract with him and an extension for Wilson. The Seahawks have been lucky that they have had their QB on a rookie contract that pays him six figures, but Wilson has been fantastic since coming in and now is ready to get paid.
Wilson was a third round pick in 2012 and that means unlike Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin, he has no fifth year option. Wilson is coming into the final year of his deal and NFL.com reports that he could end up as one of the highest paid players in football. According to Ian Rapoport on Twitter, the Seahawks may look at making the contract 75-90 percent guaranteed to fully guaranteed to help with the cap and that could make Wilson's contract one of the most unique in the sport.
The Seahawks want Wilson in on a new deal before the season starts and they are hoping Lynch comes back after rushing for 1300 yards last season. According to Pro Football Talk, the team is meeting with former Eagles cornerback Cary Williams, who was let go this past week. The team has Byron Maxwell hitting the free agent market and they lost Walter Thurmond last year.
The team also may target players like Jeremy Maclin or Owen Daniels on the market, as they traded Percy Harvin and could use a replacement on offense. Maclin was not hit with the franchise tag by the Eagles and with negotiations moving slow, he could sign elsewhere.