When Golden Tate signed a deal with the Detroit Lions there were many Seahawk fans in disbelief – how could one of their star receivers choose another team? Michael Bennett chose to stay with the Hawks for less money and now the person who said he would take less money didn’t. What?
But the twitterverse and other social media sites soon calmed. The Don’t Hate Tate campaign seemed to calm things down as fans realized that this really isn’t just a game … it’s a business and people at the end of the day want to get paid. Golden Tate went to a pass heavy team and left a team that clearly loves to run the ball. No harm, no foul.
And then came news that defensive end Jared Allen had visited Seattle. He visited not once but twice and again, Twitter was in a frenzy. Could it be? Would Allen come to Seattle? Fans on social media were touting the great hunting in Washington and the chance for a Super Bowl ring sure that the 12th man would be able to seal the deal.
And then this week it was announced that the Chicago Bears had one upped the Seahawks by giving Allen more than what he’d hoped for. Four years with a reported $15.5 million guaranteed beat out the Hawks who offered him a two-year deal paying around $6 to 7 million a year.
Some fans have already thrown up their hands in defeat and are forsaking the names of Pete Carroll and John Schneider as the Seahawks suffered free agent losses. There are a few arguments being made that need to be resolved. One of those not-so-well thought out gripes is that the Seahawks are a rich team and they are being cheap. Well, I wouldn’t say they are being cheap but they have to keep in mind that they are going to have to, very soon, pay players like Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman. If they throw all of their money at the Golden Tates and Jared Allens of the world, they might find themselves unable to keep true franchise players who helped the team earn a Super Bowl ring.
The Seahawks have said goodbye to some beloved players during free agency– Sidney Rice, Red Bryant, Chris Clemmons, and Breno Giacomini just to name a few.
As hard as it is to say goodbye to well-loved players or see a dream of a great player like Allen coming to Seattle dashed, that’s the name of the game of free agency.
The Seahawks have had to bid adieu to some great players and although they would have liked to have added Jared Allen to the roster, he wasn’t part of some sort of do or die scenario to bring home another Lombardi to Seattle.
It’s important to remember that there are lots of people who are having to eat the proverbial crow after criticizing draft picks made by Carroll and Schneider a mere two years ago and we all know how that turned out.
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