Kam Chancellor to Reportedly End Holdout with Seattle Seahawks
The 0-2 Seattle Seahawks appear to be getting their star safety back this afternoon. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith received a text from Chancellor this morning, saying he is on his way back to Seattle with the intent to end his extended holdout. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has also confirmed Chancellors’ plans to reunite with his team.
NFL Networks’ Ian Rapoport says there is no new deal in place and that this was purely a “football decision” on Kam Chancellors part.
The three-time, 27-year old Pro Bowler had held out of all of Seahawks training camp, preseason, and first two games of 2015.
Seahawks' safety Kam Chancellor is planning to return to Seattle today, per @Stephenasmith and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2015
Stephen A. Smith provided Schefter the text message Chancellor sent him early this morning. The two had apparently been discussing this for some time before Smith notified his colleagues. Chancellor’s biggest motivation to return was regarding a promise he had made to Marshawn Lynch:
"“Ima go help my teammates that are understanding of my position and the ones who aren’t. God forgives all, why can’t i? Time to help us get back to the big dance . I can address business after the season. Me and Marshawn started a mission 2 years ago. I can’t let my Dawg down….Real talk.”"
Chancellor had signed a four-year, $28 million deal heading into the 2013 season. According to Spotrac, his deal included a $5,000,000 signing bonus, $7,825,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $7,000,502.
#Seahawks GM John Schneider & Paul Allen have held firm, not giving in. They pulled a previous deal off the table. Will they forgive fines?
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 23, 2015
UDFA Dion Bailey had been filling in for Chancellor during his holdout. Chancellor will surely bring a more aggressive, consistent presence to the already stud Seahawks secondary.
The Seahawks have not had the start most analysts or fans expected. They sit 0-2 after an overtime loss to St. Louis and a ten point loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. While Chancellor will not fix all of the Seattle Seahawks problems, his locker room presence and ball-hawking ability in the secondary will have a very strong impact on both the mental and physical side of this Seahawks teams.
Chancellor’s availability for this weekends game against the Chicago Bears is not known. The game will be hosted in Seattle, who’s home crowd will surely give Kam Chancellor a warm welcome home.