Kam Chancellor's holdout may not only keep him out of action for the start of the regular season, but it could ultimately drive him away from Seattle. NJ.com reports the Giants have expressed interest in acquiring the hard-hitting safety, who didn't step on to the field during training camp because he wants a new contract.
The Giants are reportedly targeting Seahawks holdout Kam Chancellor
Chancellor’s holdout is threatening to stretch into the regular season, and the Giants are supposedly one of several teams that has inquired about bringing him aboard.
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The 27-year-old Chancellor signed a four-year extension in 2013, and has established himself as one of the best strong safeties in the league since then. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Saturday Chancellor and the Seahawks aren't close to agreeing on a new deal.
The Giants' secondary took a beating this summer, as the club has already lost four safeties for the season due to injuries. New York has signed a couple of veterans to attempt to fill the void, including Brandon Meriweather and Stevie Brown, but Chancellor would represent a significant upgrade over any of those stopgap options. The Giants pursued safety Devin McCourty in free agency, but he re-signed with the Patriots.
Even though the Seahawks aren’t dealing from a position of strength, they would still probably covet a high draft pick or two for Chancellor’s services. Seattle’s expected lofty asking price is one of the reasons why ESPN Giants reporter Dan Graziano says it’s unlikely the G-Men make a play for Chancellor.
Though the Giants have inquired about Chancellor, Graziano writes the Seahawks are leery of trading him and setting a precedent for other players who holdout. He also says the double-whammy of giving up draft picks for Chancellor and signing him to a new mega-contract could impede the Giants from acquiring him.
Chancellor could be the first cap casualty in Seattle, which has signed Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch, Earl Thomas and Bobby Wagner to lucrative contract extensions since last year. Defensive end Michael Bennett has also said he wants a new contract, but reported to camp anyway.
One of the hallmarks of building a dynasty in the modern NFL is continuing to win even while letting franchise cornerstones go. Chancellor isn’t just an elite safety, but he’s also one of the Seahawks’ locker room leaders. Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated highlighted Chancellor as one of the few players who helped bridge a festering divide between the offense and defense in Seattle this offseason in a feature story on the Seahawks for the magazine’s NFL preview.
It appears as if Chancellor’s absence would be felt both on the field and in the locker room. But if the Seahawks can’t sign him to a new deal, they may have no choice but to ship him out.
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