Seahawks discussed trade for DeSean Jackson

When a good receiver is made available via trade, the Seahawks nearly always make an enquiry.

Brandon Marshall, Vincent Jackson, Randy Moss. Percy Harvin.

And now DeSean Jackson is the latest player they’ve asked about, according to Jason La Canfora.

John Schneider and Pete Carroll like to make deals. Whether it’s the package that brought Chris Clemons to Seattle, the Harvin move or the trade with Buffalo for Marshawn Lynch — they’ve always been active.

So interest in Jackson shouldn’t be a shock. And it shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

But neither should it be ignored.

Seattle doesn’t seem to worry too much about size. I think they’d love to get a dynamic, bigger receiver. Why not?

Yet they’re not going to ignore the chance to add another X-factor to the offense just because he isn’t 6-4.

Jackson is an incredible deep threat, another extreme competitor and he just flat out makes plays.

That’s what Carroll wants.

Seattle’s offense would be one of the more explosive in the league if they could field Jackson and Harvin at the same time.

The Seahawks want to compete at every level — on and off the field. That’s why they keep asking questions, seeing what’s available and trying to find ways to get better every day.

Undoubtedly that’s why they made this call.

But it doesn’t mean anything will come of it.

The interest from San Francisco also plays a part. Why not just make life a little bit more difficult for your rivals? This is how the Seahawks and the 49ers compete with each other.

Jackson has a 2014 cap hit of $12.75m. Neither the Seahawks or the 49ers are going to inherit that.

There are suggestions he could be cut. In that scenario, I could easily see him making a visit to Seattle.

People will cite character concerns. There’s a reason why Philadelphia are seemingly willing to part with one of their better and more productive players.

Yet the Seahawks are willing to take chances. They believe in the strength of their dressing room.

It’d probably help that Marshawn Lynch is tight to Jackson from their Cal days.

But yeah — it’s still highly unlikely we’ll see any deal here, either via trade or free agency.

It’s a great draft for receivers (have I mentioned that?) and even if he’s cut, Jackson isn’t going to come here for $4-5m. Not with teams like Oakland needing a receiver and having money to burn (ideal location too).

It’ll be even more unlikely if Jared Allen decides to join the Seahawks this weekend, further limiting the teams available cap.

76 Comments

  1. Steve Nelsen

    Would a straight up Harvin for Jackson trade make sense? Philly inherits Percy’s injury risk but they get nothing if they release him.

    • Rob Staton

      I wouldn’t make that deal. One year of Percy being injured isn’t enough for me to give up. When healthy he’s elite, a top five playmaker in the league.

    • Jeff's

      Doesn’t make sense at all.

  2. Rock

    Philly actually has an abundance of salary cap space prior to this move so their motives are more than money. They seem to want him out of their locker room. My guess is he gets released. Nobody is going to pay him $12M at this point in time. The Hawks will look for a bargain and block SF from getting him cheap. I think Allen is a higher priority. We can fill our WR opening in the draft. Jackson should go to Oakland and catch balls from Matt Schaub.

    • Rob Staton

      I too suspect he’ll end up in Oakland. They’ve got plenty of money to burn and it’s where he probably wants to be.

    • Arias

      The hawks don’t really need to feign interest just to drive up his price. There seem to be enough teams interested that no matter what, he won’t come cheap. And he’s a player that’s made it clear it’s all about the money for him, more so than playing for a contender which Philly definitely was.

  3. Mylegacy

    I asked my grandmother’s old crystal ball if Jared would join the Hawks by Monday. “Not too ferkin’ likely.” it replied. Sigh…granny’s crystal ball is almost always right – fudge!

  4. Ehurd1021

    Rob if he was to get released what could you see the Hawks offering him as a FA? Or would it be strictly to drive up price.

    • Rob Staton

      Probably no more than a short term deal worth something like $4-5m. Maybe a tad more.

      • Cade

        That was going to be my question. My guess was that they would offer a short term deal for about 6.5 mill per year. I think having Desean would tilt the field more than having Allen rushing the passer.

        What do you think. Jared or Desean tilt the field more?

        • Rob Staton

          Allen for me, simply because of the draft. Allen + a receiver from this draft class taken in round one/two is superior to Jackson and then feeling like you probably have to draft a pass rusher from a relatively poor crop.

          • Cade

            Good point

            • mark

              I would love to see Jackson added to the Hawks offense. Put him with Percy, Lynch and Wilson and that is certainly an electric group of play makers that would be fun to watch. Impact Jackson vs Allen: Watch the Bowl over and over again. Our Defense won that game with an unstoppable pass rush from rotating multiple pro bowl pass rushers. Add another not only pro bowl pass rusher but ALL PRO pass rusher and the difference is clear to me.

              Jackson makes our offense more explosive and fun to watch. Allen makes are defense even more dominate and more fun to watch. Our program is based on dominate Defense and smash mouth RUNNING the football. Not short speedy diva receivers.

  5. smitty1547

    If I had to pick between Allen a pro’s pro or Jackson a head ache. Id take Allen in a sec, if u want a head ache to on the cheap for Britt.

    • Rob Staton

      Well, you could argue if Jackson is a headache at least he brings results. Britt, at least so far in his career, brings arrests.

    • Ehurd1021

      They called Beat a head ache in Buffalo too. Just depends on the locker room and environment.

      • SunPathPaul

        *Beast Ehurd1021?

        • Ehurd1021

          LOL. Thanks man.

  6. Cade

    Small detail.

    Even without Harvin most of the season the Seahawks were one of the most explosive teams in the league. They did lose Tate though.

    • Belgaron

      Yeah but the NFL isn’t static. To have a shot at repeating they need to continue to try to improve wherever they can.

  7. David M

    Off topic, but I wasn’t a member here when this happened.. But back in early season, when the hawks released Stephen Williams, do you know why they did? I’ve always wondered that…

    • Rob Staton

      Didn’t have an impact, possibly didn’t work at it enough.

    • Jon

      Think they needed to sign an o-lineman because it was right around the time Okung, Giacomini and Unger were out at the same time.

    • Cade

      Yeah I didn’t like they way he fought for the ball in the air. Just didn’t seem like a gamer. Had the measurable and speed but just couldn’t hang in the big time moments.

      I think the Seahawks want more fight out of their guys.

  8. House

    I don’t think Jackson will be an option. Just like Rob stated, we aren’t absorbing that contract, nor is he going to only take $4-5M.

    With such a deep WR class this year, I would almoat call it a mistake to pay Jackson. With a healthy Harvin, the emergence of Kearse’s continued growth and Dougie’s reliability, I like where we are at

    • plyka

      Agreed.

      Unlike most Hawk fans, I think the release of Tate was a POSITIVE. This may sound stupid, but I think that they needed to:

      a) Save the money for other players
      b) Open up a spot on this WR corps that can be filled with a big red zone target, most likely from this draft

      Percy, Doug Baldwin, Kearse and yes even Lockette or whomever else the Hawks will find (CFL guy seems interesting), look great. This leaves a space for a 1st round WR from this draft. HOpefully one of the man 6’5”, massive guys with incredible speed.

    • Belgaron

      People can be unpredictable. Stranger things have happened than a guy like Jackson considering taking a shot with a potentially epic team.

    • chris santalucia

      Jackson has always been a top 5 reciever and hell take a 7 mil contract if it gets his team a super bowl win

      1) if they take jackson they will make it to the superbowl
      2) the publicity would sky rocket
      3) they keep him away from the 49ers
      4)plus he can also run like lynch on the reverse

  9. diFuria

    What is taking Allen so long to decide to play for the best professional organization in the country? If he decides to go elsewhere or retire, maybe DeSean makes that choice for 1 year, $7-8M. SF was in the Harvin sweepstakes as I recall, if only to bid up the price we paid. I imagine a top 3 ranking on defense/offense/special teams would be distinctly within the realm of possibility (last year we were 1/7/5).

    • Rob Staton

      I must admit I thought we’d know today. Or at least news would emerge of another visit. I guess we keep waiting for an update.

    • bigDhawk

      He is waiting for his agent to leverage a deal with any team that will give him close to the deal he lost in Denver. That’s all this waiting period is about. And that won’t be us. He’ll end up in Oakland or Atlanta most likely. Maybe Philly if they can unload Jackson expeditiously.

  10. dave crockett

    I have ALWAYS been a big Jackson fan. But for the life of me, I don’t see how he fits this offense at all. Low-volume, run-oriented–a different kind of run game than Reid or Kelly. Jackson brings nothing to the table as a blocker.

    No denying his talent, but this just seems too much like PC/JS trying to drive up the price for SF. If it’s anything other than that it would trouble me a little.

    • Belgaron

      It’s about potential damage. How can you load the box when you have deep threats all over the field?

  11. Vin

    Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but…….If the whole point of the Hawks ‘interest’ is to drive up the price, as an opposing team, Im calling BS, and here’s why: The hawks don’t have the cap this year and next to keep DJax AND resign ET and Sherman and whomever else they want. And I doubt they’d trade for him and then cut him next year. And to top it off, supposedly DJax has said that he won’t renegotiate in order to expedite a trade. Now if it was a team with an abundance if cap space, then I could see them getting in the mix for the sake of driving up the asking price. I get the “no stone unturned” philosophy, it just seems a little hollow or forced in this case. Now if he was cut and then the Hawks showed interest, that would make sense. But to do it now, knowing of all the upcoming expenditures, seems a bit odd to me.

    • cha

      DJ is a field-tilting talent and the Hawks are rightly interested in those types of players. So why shouldn’t they explore the possibility? If they feel that DJ will not be a big disruption they should explore every avenue with the strength of will to walk away if a deal gets too rich.

      As for 2015 hamstringing the Hawks, there are lots of options on the table for creativity and flexibility to sign the Big 3 and still acquire players that cost more than cheap value propositions.

      We don’t know how 2014 will play out, but a quick look at overthecap.com shows there’s some money to be saved in 2015 if the Hawks deem some cuts necessary, Mebane, Harvin, Lynch, Okung, Unger etc.

      Of course I AM NOT advocating cutting any of those players. But what if Okung is hurt off and on all year and Bailey takes his job and runs with it? What if Lynch hits a wall and Michael explodes? Unger and Mebane become too expensive for what they provide to the team?

      I hope none of these things happen, but it’s certain something like one of these will – even if they end up winning another SB!

      So why not explore all options instead of automatically shutting down and saying ‘nope we can’t do this we’ve got 3 big contracts up next year’ ?

      • Bjammin

        Well said.

      • Vin

        That’s a lot of “what ifs” to count on in my opinion. And if they cut unger, Mebane, okung, lynch and Harvin, that’s roughly 12 mill in dead money, at least according to OTC. And how does DJax tilt the field in a way the Harvin doesn’t? Like I said, showing interest is one thing, but the whole timing of it all seems odd, especially with an answer from JA still forthcoming. And this isn’t about just the big 3. There are guys like Wright maxwell smith Irvin Baldwin, etc. So even if some of the names you mentioned are cut or restructured or whatever to free up $$, that money just gets reallocated to the guys who were previously making peanuts. We can all agree that ET, Sherman and RW are gonna be the ones that we see making the most $$$ and at the top of OTC as far as hawks expenditures for the next couple years.

        • Cha

          So the Hawks should just shut down operations and wait until Jared Allen makes up his mind and calls them back with an answer? Businesses just don’t work that way.

          In fact…along those lines, maybe a side benefit of interest in DJ is a shot across the bow to Allen’s camp. “Hey, we’re still pursuing other opportunities and the cap $$ may not be there tomorrow.”

          Back on point, yes hard decisions are going to have to be made in 2015, but you almost have to count on the Hawks letting one or more of Irvin, Smith, Wright, Maxwell walk. LB and CB are two positions the Hawks scout and find value very well at. And while they’re great young players, it’s very possible PC/JS sees their skill sets as more easily replaced than the skill set DJ brings.

          • Jon

            Well, Irvin will be here at least through 2015 so we don’t have to worry about him next year. If I had to choose at this point between Wright, Maxwell, and Smith. Then it is Wright and Maxwell all day long.

    • Rob Staton

      It’s not just about cap cost though. San Fran might be offering a 5th because Philly will cut Jackson anyway. As soon as Seattle mentions a 4th rounder in their discussion with the Eagles, the price goes up.

      • Arias

        Until the time comes when Philly calls Seattle’s bluff and the trade has to be consummated. Then when Seattle balks at having to give up that 4th the whole thing would have kind of backfired.

        • Belgaron

          Nah, trade couldn’t consumate without new contract, which all teams would demand, it’s not that simple.

          • Arias

            Yeah good point. I’d assume any bluff would be called before that stage.

          • Madmark

            In a trade you don’t necessarily have to give a new contract because there 1 year on contract he has which would cost 12.5 for one year. It usually what you like to see thou. Harvin’s would have had to play at least one year for us but we manage to sign him to a new contract.

            • Belgaron

              The assuming teams wouldn’t want to trade for that contract. They’d want a new deal to be agreed upon before the trade was completed.

  12. Nolan

    Three quick points on our supposed interest in Jackson…

    1. Philly wants as many teams interested as possible to drive up the price, and they definitely want a fashionable team like The Hawks interested. 80% chance this is a philly plant to drive the news.

    2. Djax posted a pic of him and carol from when carol recruited him on Instagram. 15% chance this is where our supposed interest in him is being reported from.

    3. He is a good player, there are rumors about him, the Seahawks in the story = clicks = ad revenue.4% chance this is where our interest comes from.

    That last one percent is the highly unlikely possibility that the hawks decided to torch their locker room cgemestry by cutting/restructuring enough guys to show horn in a 12mil per year guy who has done nothing for the hawks, while at the same time not resigning earl Sherm or resigning Tate.

    • Belgaron

      The report came from a credible reporter, Seattle did make the call. They do this all the time.

      • Nolan

        Credible reporters get belayed by agents aand teams all the time not just joe schooners on twitter but big time heavy wights like shedder aget used. Wasn’t it less then four days ago that Jared Allen was signed into be a Seahawk that came from a credible reporter to.

        • Belgaron

          Sometimes real reporters get played, but it is a lot less likely. I’d have to hear it from a more credible source like a direct interview to know for sure this one was fake. They do reach out on lots of situations so it isn’t remotely far fetched. LaConforta doesn’t need to stoop to fake stories for web click revenue, he’s highly credible.

          On Allen, Werder reported that he intended to sign on Thursday barring unforeseen developments. Allen clearly put on the brakes at some point. He didn’t report he was signed.

  13. Madmark

    I don’t think you’ll see a Jackson come here unless he’s willing to do a 1 year prove it deal. I get the impression he has never been one of those people that would take a pay cut. I believe its Seattle just kicking the tires and seeing what the possibilities are.

    • Kenny Sloth

      Plus he doesn’t have anything to prove. Except maybe that he’d take a pay cut to win a championship. That’d be really big of Djax in my mind.

      • Madmark

        The prove it deal wouldn’t be so much about can he play but more about how much we can pay and whether he is a me diva, who could disrupt the locker room. Everytime I heard something about Jackson it has always about money and receptions.

  14. Kelly Orr

    Rob with them showing interest in Jackson do you think it means Seattle could be looking at Cooks from Oregon State possibly at WR in Rnd 1? Or do you really think it is just interest for the sake of being interested?

    • David Ess

      maybe OBJ? i doubt hes there at 32 but i like him and based on PC/JS draft history i can see them liking him.

    • Steve Nelsen

      Cooks at 32 makes sense to me. He has special speed and he catches everything. There will likely be some big, red-zone guys at 64. That being said, it is doubtful he slips to 32.

      • Kelly Orr

        I extremely doubt he slips to 32 as well but just saying if they were looking at Jackson for a trade possibly that maybe Cooks could be #1 on their board in this draft?

    • Belgaron

      He’s definitely on their board.

  15. Dumbquestions

    The Hawks don’t have a true no. 1 receiver right now, and barring some serious luck + wizardry, they’re not going to get one in the draft, at least in the sense of an immediate threat that forces defenses to adjust. Presumably they pick up a good WR with big upside, but it’s hard to imagine finding an immediate starter – not at 32 or 64.

    Harvin is big-G great, but his value is greatest as a sort of super-slot guy. And while I don’t like to think of his fragility, it’s hard to ignore it completely. I fear the prospect of New Orleans-type teams keying on him and head-hunting.

    That sort of thing becomes more likely with Tate’s departure. Suppose 2014 goes well, but Harvin misses two or three games. Suddenly, the receiving corps (all due respect) looks awfully thin, and then it turns into a stack-the-box game against Lynch.

    Jackson is an elite talent, one of those rare players who demands defensive attention. It makes perfect sense to look at him. JS/PC covet exploders, and that’s what Jackson would be – plus, it costs nothing to window-shop. On one level, he’d be Tate with greater speed (admittedly less blocking ability) and the same punt-return factor. If he’d take a prove-it deal, I don’t see the downside – and I don’t see it as Allen or Jackson. It seems possible (narrowly) to pick up both, though the money gets tight.

    Trading for DJ is an obvious no-go. If nothing else, pushing the price up to hinder the 49ers makes sense.

    • Arias

      Sorry but Harvin is a true #1 that forces defenses to adjust. He’s just used more unconventionally in the slot because of how much more dynamic he is than your typical true #1 receiver. Understand the concern over his fragility but team will definitely add a legit WR to the mix from the draft. Jackson’s money demands are too high to be possible for anything more than a one year rental, and if he becomes a FA he’s not going to choose to do a one year prove it deal with a run oriented offense. He’ll be loathe to do any prove it deal at all seeing as to how he feels he just proved it and doesn’t feel he should have to again to get paid up front.

      • Belgaron

        Harvin’s definitely #1 from a pay perspective and probably from a TD on any given play perspective, but I could see a rejuvenated Rice come back and have more catches per game. And while less likely, it’s not out of the question that a ROY type could also come in and do the same.

        • Arias

          Seriously? His last year in Minny before he went down he was averaging 7 receptions (along with 2+ rushing attempts) per game. That’s #1 receiver numbers.

          Unless of course you’re factoring in the time he might miss from injury. In that case I could see your point.

  16. Sam Jaffe

    I’m clearly in the minority in thinking that this would be a worthwhile move (assuming that the trade bounty isn’t too valuable). The idea would be to use the remaining cap space on a second wild card in the offense. Here are the reasons not to do it, and my reasons for why I’m still in favor of it:

    *Seattle is a run-first offense: This is true, but Seattle still passes. In fact, I would suggest that its passing game is more important, strategically, then its running game. The idea is to reduce the number of passes, but when they do happen, make them count (i.e. go long and don’t miss). Having Jackson and Harvin as two matchup nightmare targets on the field at the same time would improve the lethality of the passing game tremendously.
    *Paying two wide receivers $24 million is too much: If they are the two wide receivers that make the offense become more damaging, then the answer is no.
    *Jackson is a clone of Harvin: True. But in this case 2x the receiver is worth more than 2x the damage. Most defenses have a slot corner that can handle a speedy little guy. Nobody can handle two of them.
    *Seattle’s offensive problems are in the red zone, and another mighty-mite won’t help there: I totally agree, but that’s what the first round draft pick is for.
    *If Seattle needed another small receiver, it should have just signed Tate for $5 million: I disagree that Jackson and Tate are interchangeable. They are very different kind of receivers.

    So yes, I would agree with paying Jackson’s salary and a mid-round draft pick.

  17. phil

    PC and Jackson know each other well. Jackson played high school football at Long Beach Poly (in Southern California) and was heavily recruited by PC when he was at USC. Jackson reportedly had a difficult time picking between USC and Ted Tedford’s Cal team and eventually signed with Cal.

    I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the idea of Jackson deciding that he’d like to play for PC this time around.

  18. Austin

    I’m lying if I said this move didn’t excite me. Wilson is capable of putting up numbers like the best in the league and having Harvin and Desean on the field at the same time would be incredible. I have no doubts that Seattle’s interest is real….just have to be for the right price.

    In regards to fitting the offense. The strength of Wilson’s game is the deep ball and taking long shots down the field which is also Jackson’s strength. It opens things up for Harvin, Lynch etc as well.

    But I don’t see it happening. Oakland and others can throw a ton of money at him. I would love to see him land on the Jets.

    • Kenny Sloth

      Out of the blue is traded to the Patriots.

  19. Kenny Sloth

    Something no-one has mentioned is the potential for cap rollover. How nice would it be to have an extra 6-8 million next offseason? That could be the difference between resigning both Avril and ByMax.

    • Hay stacker509

      I agree. If we sign Allen great! But if not then I don’t think we should go after any more players. Sign Allen roll the rest over til next year or don’t sign Allen and roll a lot more over so we can extend our core. I’d personally rather extend Baldwin and kearse instead of paying for djax

      • monkey

        I agree completely with that.
        It’s my opinion that there are several guys we could draft this year, who would fit better for what we need anyway. Jordan Matthews and Martavis Bryant are both bigger receivers who I like a lot, and who would fill that “big body” role we haven’t quite seen since Big Mike Williams, but you know Pete still REALLY wants. Heck, for that matter, Jared Abbrederis isn’t quite that big, but I’d rather take him in the middle rounds as a Wisconsin guy with super high football IQ, who has already played a year with Wilson.
        I’d be very happy if Seattle got any of these three, much more than I would with seeing them trade a pick that could have gotten one of them, for a guy who fits the role of Percy Harvin…which we already have. Which, by the way, is why we let Golden Tate go, because we already HAD a guy for that role…we just don’t have the big receiver Pete wants.

        • James

          The other thing Abbrederis has going for him is that he and Russell Wilson can read each other’s minds, surely a rare attribute. Just watch the Wisconsin tape and you will be amazed. With the run on WRs in the top two rounds, Jared could fall to R5, and the Seahawks should grab him, no matter who they selected earlier.

  20. Richard

    The Seahawks have arrived . They are one of the top teams and will stay that way as long as Coach Carroll is with the team. Players will come and go but it’s that old white dude with the grey hair that makes this thing work. no reason why he shouldn’t be the highest paid coach in sports . Write that man a check Mr. Allen !

    • Rob Staton

      I’m surprised an extension hasn’t been announced to be honest. This needs to get done now.

      • Cha

        Agreed.

        Can it be an under the radar thing like when Schneider got his extension?

        I ask because TNT”s Dybas has been on PC in interviews about if he’s gotten an extension. Each time PC just grins and makes some cryptic comment about how “he’ll be taken care of” or “he has nothing to worry about” or something like that.

        • Arias

          It’s pretty hard to doubt him when he says that don’t you think? 🙂

          As long as he’s happy here I can’t see any reason for him to wonder off, even if he does have the itch for other challenges that day has definitely not arrived yet.

  21. cha

    PFT says Hawks have no interest in Desean Jackson

    http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/23/seahawks-have-no-interest-at-all-in-desean-jackson/

    • Arias

      Sounds like that’s the true scoop and all the rumors about Seattle interest was the noise all along.

  22. Ukhawk

    Based on current big boards I’d like to see:
    R1 OL Bitinio (or Benjamin/OBJ/Cooks if available)
    R2 WR Bryant/Coleman/Matthews (or Bitinio/Moses/Kouanjio if R1=WR)
    R4 DL Urban/Daquan Jones
    R5 LB Tripp/Starr
    R6 CB Gaines/Colvin

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