The Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson are working on a contract extension this offseason and if the two sides can't agree, reports say the quarterback could go year to year on franchise tag deals and this comes as the team may pick up the option on Bruce Irvin's contract and as they may target players like Chris Conley, TJ Yeldon and Breshad Perriman in the upcoming draft.
The Seahawks are looking to lock up Wilson as he comes into the final year of his contract, but so far the two sides are not close on a deal. According to Pro Football Talk, the two sides have been talking but "no progress" has been made on a long term contract. This offseason there have been numerous reports about the talks, including that the team is considering making the deal 75-90 percent guaranteed to help with cap hits down the line.
The Seahawks have been fortunate that Wilson has cost so little on the salary cap over his first three seasons, but that will change. Wilson, unlike Bruce Irvin (get to that in a sec), does not have a fifth year option since he was a third round pick. While Wilson is not going anywhere as a free agent, the team would like to secure his future before completing his rookie deal.
Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk wrote about the contract situation and he speculates that Wilson and his reps could look at using the franchise tag to their advantage down the line. Florio wrote that Wilson could keep his $1.5 million salary for 2015 and then have the Seahawks franchise tag him for next year. The money would be between $20-25 million and Florio adds that Wilson could continue using the tag and getting raises as each year goes on. While it would be an injury risk, Wilson has been playing with that for the last three years anyway.
The Seahawks and Wilson can play out this year and then worry about the contract after the season, but the team likely wants to get a deal done sooner rather than later. NFL.com reports that the Seahawks want to get the extension done before training camp and it comes as he is about to finish out his four-year, $2.198 million rookie deal. Early reports have Wilson set to be one of the highest paid players in football and he could command up to $20 million per season.
Wilson is the main priority, but the team also has Bruce Irvin and his contract to deal with. According to the Tacoma News Tribune, the team has not yet decided about picking up Irvin's fifth year option, which would be $7.75 million for 2016. The report says the team likely will pick up the option, as Irvin has emerged as a strong part of the defense and the team also lost Malcolm Smith to the Raiders at linebacker. Last season Irvin played in 15 games and had six sacks with 36 total tackles.
According to Pro Football Talk and ESPN writer Terry Blount, the Seahawks have needs at wide receiver, offensive line, running back and cornerback in the draft. Blount writes that Yeldon could be a target for depth behind Marshawn Lynch, while Conley could be one of the top receivers in the second tier of the draft class from Georgia.
