It sounds like bold but rational talk in April; let's see if the Seattle Seahawks have the same bravado when contract negotiations with Russell Wilson become serious.
CBSSports.com reported on an interview that Seahawks general manager John Schneider did with 710-AM ESPN Radio in Seattle that he was not going to let Russell Wilson's talk of playing baseball affect negotiations. But he also added that the franchise is prepared to go in a different direction if Wilson asks for too much money.
Russell Wilson using baseball to get a more lucrative contract from the Seahawks?
"What I can tell you is that this is the ultimate team sport, we have a track record of rewarding our players that we recognize as core players," Schneider said. "We're going into our sixth draft now - I can't believe that; we've been here for a while now - but just that track record of being able to make those tough decisions. Every negotiation is unique in and of itself and this is no different. Ultimate team sport, he's our quarterback, we'd love him to be our quarterback. But the thing is, we need to keep as many of these guys together as we possibly can."
In continuing his tough talk, Schneider compares Wilson to less-noted former Seahawks in defensive end Cory Redding, now with the Indianapolis Colts who was with the team in 2009, and wide receiver Nate Burleson, who spent four years with the Seahawks from 2006-09 before moving on with the Detroit Lions through 2013.
"I think you've seen over the last several years now a philosophy of competition at every position and trying to acquire as many players as you possibly can and to make it fit. We've done this since Day 1. When we got here we had to make some very tough cap decisions with Cory Redding and Nate Burleson. They were two guys that we had a lot of respect for, but where we were on our cap at the time, we had to make decisions. And then we had a couple years without a cap and now we're back in a world with a salary cap and we need to be cognizant of that."
While Wilson doesn't have the longevity of Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, his early career stats would seem to indicate he deserves to be compared to players more accomplished than Nate Burleson.
Wilson has a 6-2 playoff record with two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl win. If it weren't for a questionable play call at the goal line by the Seahawks staff in Super Bowl XLIX, he could be a two-time Super Bowl winner.
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