faba Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Seattle saves on cap while navigating holdouts By John Clayton ESPN.com The Seattle Seahawks saved a little less than $600,000 of cap room by making Pro Bowl left guard Steve Hutchinson a transition player instead of a franchise player, but they may have an extra month or so of uncertainty. In a little bit of a surprise, the Seahawks didn't franchise Hutchinson. Part of the reason was the three holdouts they endured with Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones. The Seahawks franchised him three times but he held out until the start of the regular season. Franchise players have guaranteed contracts but there are normally limited negotiations. Teams have until March 17 to get a long-term deal without the team losing the franchise tag, but normally, few deals get done. By transitioning him, the Seahawks have the right to match any offer and the one-year tender isn't guaranteed and he can negotiate with 31 teams. The transition tender is $6.391 million as opposed to the franchise number of $6.983 million. Hutchinson's agent, Tom Condon, can try to come back with an offer that might be hard for the Seahawks to match. In some circles, Hutchinson is clearly one of the best free agents. The Seahawks illustrated that by placing a tag on him as opposed to halfback Shaun Alexander, the league's MVP. When was the last time a guard was more valuable than an MVP running back who rushed for 1,880 yards? The Seahawks will continue negotiating with him, but Hutchinson expects to make more than $6 million a year. Years ago, Cowboys guard Larry Allen negotiated a contract worth around $6.1 million a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenjetsfan Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Lots of SEATTLE talk of a NEW CENTER????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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