Seattle sports dodged major bullets in the last week when the Seahawks re-signed linebacker Leroy Hill and the Storm resigned Lauren Jackson.
The Seahawks removed the franchise tag from Leroy Hill after drafting Aaron Curry with the 4th pick in the NFL draft. Immediately the talking heads wondered what the heck Tim Ruskell was doing. Curry was initially thought to be replacing Julian Peterson whom the Seahawks exiled to Detroit after he refused to renegotiate his contract. Was Curry supposed to replace Hill? Who would play on the other side of Lofa Tatupu? I, along with Seahawks fans everywhere, held our breath knowing that Hill could now go anywhere for any price.
Sports radio started throwing up comparisons with the Steve Hutchinson situation. Hutchinson was a different case though. For some reason, he felt like the team had disrespected him. Pardon me, but that’s bull. How many other teams’ offensive guards get their picture on one of the season ticket packages or features in one of the team commercials? How many other guards get mentioned as one of the stars of the team, in the same breath as Walter Jones, Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander? In 2005, Hutchinson was all that and more for the Seahawks. The team knew how good he was and thought they were doing him a favor by letting him get offers from other teams so they could pay him what he was worth. They never dreamed he would allow Minnesota to put that poison pill clause in the contract. Even with that, Walter Jones offered to renegotiate his contract to allow Seattle to match the offer for Hutchinson. Does that sound like disrespect to you because it doesn’t to me?
With Hill, Ruskell had learned his lesson. He called Hill and his agent, Todd France, to tell them the team’s plans ahead of time. Removing the franchise tag allowed the Seahawks more flexibility under the salary cap, sign Hill to a long term deal, and pick up former Seahawk Ken Lucas from the free agent market. By keeping the player informed, Ruskell was able to head off any miscommunication that might have cropped up. It paid off when Hill signed a six -year deal worth up to $38 million. It was a very ballsy move that shows Ruskell isn’t afraid to take risks.
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