Would the Seattle Seahawks trade Richard Sherman, as the NFL rumor mill recently suggested?
Speaking at the Annual League Meeting on Tuesday in Phoenix, general manager John Schneider didn't rule out a move.
"I mean, we listen," Schneider said, via ESPN.com. "We listen to like everything you would think. We're in a lot of stuff. We try to pride ourselves on that. I think I've told you guys before we walk away from 98 percent of the deals that we're involved with or talking about.
"But at least we know that we've knocked down their door, we've gone in there and checked it out. We're not just going to assume. We always just have to constantly be thinking about the organization and how we're going to move it forward."
Speaking at the NFC coaches' breakfast Wednesday morning, coach Pete Carroll said teams have contacted the Seahawks about potentially acquiring Sherman but downplayed the chances of any deal.
"I don't see anything happening at all," Carroll said.
A source with knowledge of the situation told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport the Patriots were among the teams who contacted the Seahawks about Sherman before they signed former Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
Sherman turns 29 during this season and is set to make $11.431 million this season and $11 million in the final year of his contract next season.
The Seahawks might listen to trade offers -- #DueDiligence -- but we scoff at the idea of Sherman going anywhere this season.
First off, he's too vital to the defensive scheme Carroll deploys. Sherman's physicality and length allow the Seahawks to roll coverage to the other side of the field. Seattle still hasn't found a stable second-fiddle since Brandon Browner left in 2014. Would they get rid of a No. 1 corner without a logical replacement? Nope.
It's not as if Sherman's performance has fallen off -- like Darrelle Revis, for example. He's still the best fade defender in football, and a lockdown defender when allowed to travel with No. 1 receivers.
Teams in win-now mode don't jettison All-Pro players in their prime under reasonable contracts. Even if some are annoyed by Sherman's sideline and off-field vocal antics, those are small issues in the grand scheme of chasing a Lombardi Trophy.