Seattle Seahawks: DE Frank Clark says he is okay with Franchise Tag
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark and his agent have stated that they are in no hurry for a new deal and are not afraid of the Seahawks Franchise Tagging them. What will this mean for Clark and the team?
Well, obviously the Seattle Seahawks have had their fair share of contract disputes over the last few seasons. Marshawn Lynch, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas III have all been players who have held out for a new contract over the last few seasons. All of these players have been searching for their third contract, and two of them got it. Seahawks management doesn’t take players who don’t show up to work very well.
This past offseason Earl Thomas went into preparation for his “contract year” and made it clear to the team that he would not be showing up to practice or any team activities until he got what he thought he “deserved.” We all know what happened, Thomas came back and played better than he ever had before he broke his leg in week five against Arizona.
Frank Clark, however, is seeking his second payday and is fine with receiving the franchise tag. With the way that he is treating this, how will it impact him and the team?
Impacts on Clark
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Frank Clark is in the last year of his rookie contract and has been playing very well. He has 5.5 sacks in six games and is currently on pace for just around 14 sacks this season. His career record coming into 2018 was 10. Clark has had no intentions to hold out and plans to play his best to either get a contract with Seattle, get a franchise tag from Seattle, or move to another team in free agency.
Why would Clark want to be franchise tagged by Seattle? The salary of a tagged defensive end will come in around $18M of guaranteed money for 2019 and that is about as much as Clark wants per year of salary. The franchise tag is a way that premier defensive ends have cashed in recently, such as Demarcus Lawrence and Ezekiel Ansah.
Clark is going to get his money either way, whether it be in Seattle or not.
Impacts on Seattle Seahawks
Seattle has many key players they have to consider extending over the next offseason. The Seahawks will have around $60 million in cap space next season which means they need to be careful who gets contract extensions. Frank Clark, D.J. Fluker, Justin Coleman, and Jarran Reed, will be among those looking for an extension. Seattle will suffer, especially on defense, if they don’t get free agency right this offseason.
What will happen if they don’t sign Clark? Right now, Clark is the biggest difference maker in the Hawks front seven. He’s on pace to have 14 sacks and chipped in a goal-line interception against the Los Angeles Rams (see below) on top of that. I don’t believe Seattle wants to lose his production.
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With the way that Clark is handling this, I think he deserves some respect from the Seattle Seahawks management team, especially after their star player, Earl Thomas III, disrespected the organzation and locker room by holding out. The Seahawks should pay the people who are loyal, and who make their money by earning it on the field.