John Schneider: Seahawks don’t have plans to franchise tag Sheldon Richardson

Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider met with the media on Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine, and he said that the team doesn’t have any plan to give the franchise tag to defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson “at this point.”:

“Not at this point. We have time, but we have more people that we have to talk to this weekend. We’re not done with all our meetings.”

The Seahawks have until Tuesday (March 6) to apply the franchise tag to Richardson or anyone else. The only other candidates would be Jimmy Graham and Paul Richardson, but both are even less likely to be tagged than Sheldon, who would carry a hit of $14.5 million if Seattle does place it on him. Before using the tag on Richardson, the Seahawks may want to find out what their replacement options would look like, if they can sign Richardson without using the tag at all, where they stand with Graham and Paul Richardson, and other variables.

But if the team plans to keep as many of their free agents as possible, which Pete Carroll reiterated on Thursday, then using over $14 million on one player seems highly unlikely. The team may have only $14 million to spend total, even if they do release Cliff Avril and Jeremy Lane. The Seahawks have remained very tight on transactions this year, not making any moves until the last moment necessary, it seems.

Some other notes from Schneider:

• They plan to meet with Shaquem Griffin, brother and former UCF teammate of Seattle cornerback Shaquill Griffin.
• “It just seemed like it was time,” was what he said in regards to the firings of Darrell Bevell and Kris Richard, among other coaches.
• As far as Michael Bennett or any other potential trade rumors, Schneider says the same thing the organization has said since 2010: “We’re gonna be in every deal” and “We don’t want to miss any opportunity.” I guess no word on if that includes a Russell Wilson trade.