Seahawks' defensive lineman Michael Bennett has again denied that he's asked for, or wants a trade from Seattle.
"I think everyone who has a job, they want a raise for whatever they're doing," Bennett told King-5's Margaret Larson on New Day NW. "I'm just like any other American. I think everybody wants to be paid a little bit more so I don't think I fall short of that. People assume when you ask for a little more money, they assume that you want to be traded or something like that. But that's not what I'm trying to go for.
When asked directly by the New Day NW host if he wants to get traded, Bennett replied, "no."
Rumors that Bennett wanted out cropped up prior to the draft, but Bennett responded at the time that he never asked for a trade. However, he did not deny that he wants a new contract only a year after signing a four-year deal with Seattle, and that's something that will likely remain true throughout this summer. However, he doesn't have a lot of leverage in that area and the Seahawks have made it a rule to never change contracts until the year before they're due to be up. That's what happened with Marshawn Lynch during last year's offseason.
However, as Jason La Canfora reported on Wednesday.
[Bennett]'s kinda sorta tried to say that he didn't really want to be dealt after all, but that's not flying anywhere. He and his agent have made it clear he'd rather not be back in Seattle and while the Seahawks aren't ones to back down, perhaps something emerges that makes sense for all parties prior to the start of the regular season.
Kind of odd not to be so happy in a franchise that competes for a Lombardi Trophy, and until or unless the Seahawks put out explicit word that Bennett has permission to speak to other teams, I don't see any clubs nibbling in this era of hyper-sensitivity over tampering regulations. But there's a lot of time between now and September for something to perhaps change.
JLC has been right about a good amount of Seahawks-related stuff over the past few months, so I do trust that his source is solid. However, I don't know if Bennett's reported trade request holds water.
Personally, if it's indeed true, I see this as a leverage play more than anything by Bennett's camp. I could be way off, but I don't think that they have much (or any) leverage in their request, and the allusion or implicit threat of a trade-request is the one piece of power they wield. The Seahawks obviously do not want to lose their star player, but it may come to the point where they have to call Bennett's bluff on that.
(Obviously, Bennett may actually want a trade, but per his comments, it would appear he does not).
The implied threat of a trade-request could lead Seattle to offer a concession (or so Bennett's camp views it), but my guess on this is that Seattle will not budge. It's just too early into Michael Bennett's four-year deal. We saw a similar chain of events go down last year when Marshawn Lynch threatened retirement.