Let’s see, Super Bowl or a four-year, $32 million deal with $15.5 million of it guaranteed?
You can’t blame defensive end Jared Allen for taking the money the Chicago Bears threw at him. That’s a lot of dough.
Besides — and you might not want to hear this — there’s no guarantee the Seattle Seahawks are going to win the Super Bowl next year? The New England Patriots (2004 and 2005) are the last team to repeat. The Hawks might be the favorite going in, and deservedly so, but repeating will not be easy.
If you believe what you read, Seattle offered Allen a two-year, $12 million contract — and about $8 million of it was guaranteed. Not chump change, but it’s not $32 million and the guaranteed money is the big thing. He’s getting nearly twice as much guaranteed money in Chicago.
Hey, it would have been nice to throw Allen in the mix with Michael Bennett, Brandon Mebane and the rest of Seattle’s defensive linemen, but you can’t blame the former Vikings’ star for saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.”
It’ll be interesting to hear what Allen has to say during his press conference with the Bears’ on Monday.
And it’ll be interesting to see what the Seahawks do in the draft. If they were willing to pay Allen that much, it tells me they must feel there have a need for another top defensive end. There’s also a need for another offensive lineman, and the Seahawks could use another wide receiver, too. They are reportedly still in the mix to bring back Sidney Rice, whom they released.
Here’s a look at the Seahawks free agency scorecard:
Free agents lost: Wide receiver Golden Tate (Detroit), defensive tackle Clinton McDonald (Tampa Bay), cornerbacks Brandon Browner (New England) and Walter Thurmond (NY Giants), offensive linemen Breno Giacomino (NY Jets) and Paul McQuistan (Cleveland) and safety Chris Maragos (Philadelphia).
Players released: Defensive ends Chris Clemons and Red Bryant, wide receiver Sidney Rice.
Free agents re-signed: Defensive end Michael Bennett, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, kicker Steven Hauschka, defensive tackle Tony McDaniel and tight end Anthony McCoy.
Free agents signed from other teams: Former Jacksonville WR Taylor Price, CFL wide receiver Chris Matthews.
