I wanted to follow up Vasilii's article on Seahawks' DB Jordan Babineaux by pointing you to a radio interview he gave with Bottom Line Sports. It's a pretty long interview, I think Jordan talks for about 20 minutes or so, but the one quote that stood out to me was when he talked about his free agency situation. When asked about the mad-dash free agency period coming up, he responded:
"It could be a good thing. Here we are, with such a stranglehold on time, teams really have to step up to the plate and go after the guys that feel they're going to make an impact on their roster. Now if that's the case, it could be a bidding war, and if you're a veteran, and with some experience and have some good tape out there, teams are going to want your services, and you could be in a good position once the CBA is done.
I'm hoping, and looking forward to seeing what my position is, and what teams rate me as a player."
This is me construing what I hear, but that sounds to me like a guy that's open to leaving, and moreover, looking to start somewhere. As Vasilii pointed out, he did play a lot of snaps for the Seahawks in 2010, but he took a paycut to do so. He may be looking to get a better contract than the Seahawks are willing to give him (based on what they gave him last year), and it could mean he won't be in a Seahawks' uniform this season.
This of course depends on what teams see and if they think he can be of service. It will be interesting.
As Vasilii brought up in his piece, there's a chance that the Seahawks' front office has brought on players like Brandon Browner and Byron Maxwell with the Babineaux role in mind, which makes the veteran safety more expendable. My guess is that the Seahawks will make him an offer but they made a statement to him last season by cutting him and restructuring his contract. Babineaux will have to decide where he has the best chance of playing and thriving in the next few seasons, and it may not be with the Hawks.
Babineaux is a versatile and veteran player - he had a big role in the nickel defense (so much that it was named for him, "Nickel Babs"). He was able to line up on the bigger receivers we face and did a decent job with that. He's a veteran presence for the young players and has playoff experience under his belt.
On the other hand though, John Schneider and Pete Carroll have repeatedly stated that they want to get younger and faster at every position. This is a rebuilding team - though they may be competitive in the NFC West - it's unclear how much the Seahawks may invest in veteran players that will unlikely be a part of the puzzle a year or two down the road. Perhaps they will look to develop their younger players in a trial by fire this season?
Either way, as Vasilii pointed out, Babs' value to the Hawks is probably pretty understated. I will be watching to see what the Hawks do here very closely.