The Seattle Seahawks intend to do everything they can to keep the championship roster together for years to come. However, two of their biggest stars are in need of new contracts heading into the offseason and many wonder what the team's intentions are of keeping both. It is assumed that Russell Wilson will earn a contract that makes him the highest-paid player in the league, while Marshawn Lynch awaits his future in Seattle.
According to head coach Pete Carroll, contract negotiations with Lynch have already begun and have been ongoing for some time now. This confirms a report by NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport who reported over the weekend that Lynch was offered a new contract, but it was unclear if the running back intended to sign it or not. Lynch has been the subject of a number of trade rumors throughout the past year, but apparently Seattle has no intentions of seeing that through.
"We'll see," Carroll said, via ESPN.com. "We've been in the midst of negotiations for a long time for the future. So we'll see how that goes."
While that was not a ringing endorsement from the head coach, it certainly is a change in tune from the reports that surfaced back in October from NFL Insider Chris Mortensen who said the Seahawks organization had no intentions of bring Lynch back for 2015 despite the one year remaining on his contract. Right now, the Seahawks are trying to be smart with their cap space. Lynch will be an $8.5 million camp hit in 2015, but the Seahawks would save $7 million by releasing him.
This offseason, the priority is Wilson and a new contract for the quarterback that is expected to be the biggest in the NFL. Wilson earned just $662,434 this season despite having won the Super Bowl last year and the Seahawks plan to give him a giant raise as a result. While negotiations have yet to begin, Wilson told the media that he was not concerned about getting something done understanding that he would be with the Seahawks for a long time to come.
"To be honest with you, I haven't really thought anything about it," Wilson said, via ProFootballTalk.com. "You know, I obviously want to play in Seattle forever. That's my goal, and I want to be with this organization. I love this organization. I love this city. I love these fans, and I love winning here. We've won a lot of football games here, and that's the goal, you know. Every year I step on the field, every time I go out those doors back there, the goal is to have a winning day and the goal is to have a winning practice with great teammates around me. So, I think that's where my focus is, is just continue to find ways to win, and hopefully it's here in Seattle forever."
The Seahawks have a lot of offseason moves to make that include replacing defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and getting players like Richard Sherman and Cliff Avril healthy again. While Wilson will be back, it still remains to be seen if Lynch is in Seattle next year.
