ESPN NFL

Jump ahead to 2015 and put yourself in John Schneider's seat as the Seattle Seahawks' general manager.

By then, you will have re-signed or lost elite players such as safety Earl Thomas and cornerback Richard Sherman.

Your quarterback, Russell Wilson, will be entering the final year of his rookie contract. Wilson will be eligible to sign a new one for the first time under the NFL's labor rules.

The same goes for Bobby Wagner, your starting middle linebacker, and Bruce Irvin, your highly drafted pass-rusher. All will cost much more than they're costing right now.

Your Pro Bowl left tackle, Russell Okung, will also be entering a contract year.

One receiver, Percy Harvin, will have a contract counting $12.9 million against the salary cap. Another, Sidney Rice, will have a deal counting $10.2 million.

Oh, and one other thing about this 2015 adventure: You'll have to decide whether to pay a $2 million roster bonus and $5.5 million salary for a running back entering his ninth season.

Marshawn Lynch is that running back, and right now, in 2013, he's about as good as they come, this side of Adrian Peterson. But you'll need younger, more economical alternatives for some of your best players down the line. These aren't the sort of immediate needs that show up in draft previews, but they're always lurking.

Now, thanks to one of the more surprising moves in the 2013 draft, the Seahawks have bought insurance for their future at the position most vulnerable to age.

Christine Michael, the Texas A&M running back Seattle unexpectedly selected 62nd overall Friday, must by rule sign a four-year contract through 2016. His deal will run past the contracts that Lynch and backup running back Robert Turbin signed last offseason. It will count far less against the cap than the $9 million Lynch's deal is scheduled to count in 2015.

Seattle probably did not draft Michael with the distant future in the front of its mind. One explanation trumps all others when determining why the Seahawks used a second-round draft choice for a running back with two perfectly good ones on the roster already. The team thinks Michael can be special.

"He was the highest-rated player on our board and we lost Leon Washington, so we were looking for a little bit of depth there, and he is just our kind of runner," Schneider said. "He's a tough, intense, up-field, one-cut guy, and he's just a very good football player, competitor."

Adding Michael does not imperil Lynch for the 2013 season, of course. It does provoke natural tendencies to wonder whether there's more to this story.

"I could be far-fetched here," Kevin from McKinney, Texas, wrote to the NFC West mailbag, illustrating how far the mind can wander, "but is it possible John Schneider and [coach] Pete Carroll are concerned with Lynch's future effectiveness due to the new lowering of the crown rule? It seems to me that is a big part of his game and significantly contributes to his yards after contact."

There is no way the rulebook pressured Seattle into drafting a running back.

Carroll and other coaches fear officials will struggle enforcing the new rule preventing runners from lowering their heads and delivering an aggressive blow to the opponent with the top of the helmet. The rule could affect Lynch, but league officials said they discovered only a few would-be violations per week when studying tape from last season.

The Seahawks selected Michael because they thought he was the best back in the draft and well-suited to their offense. They wanted additional depth for their running game, which will remain the focus of their offense. They have to realize that Lynch's back spasms, while manageable to this point, could become more problematic with additional wear and tear. And they surely realize that Lynch's occasional off-field troubles dating to his time with the Buffalo Bills could recur, inviting sanctions.

Adding Michael doesn't mean the team thinks less of Lynch or Turbin, a 2012 fourth-round choice. There are no indications the team is anticipating a Lynch suspension in relation to his DUI arrest last offseason.

Still, I would bet against Lynch playing out the final year of his deal when Michael and Turbin figure to be available at a significant discount.

Seattle was fortunate in 2010 to have a running back of Lynch's caliber and young age (then 24) become available by trade at reasonable cost. The team was wise to re-sign Lynch one year ago to a four-year deal featuring $17 million in guaranteed money.

This marriage should be good for both parties for the next couple of seasons.

Lynch's deal pays him $7 million in salary with an $8.5 million salary-cap charge in 2013. It carries a $5 million salary and $7 million cap number in 2014. The team will have a decision to make at that point because Lynch's deal includes a $5.5 million salary and a $2 million roster bonus with a $9 million cap figure for 2015, the contract's final year.

Michael, a luxury buy at present, should be much more than that by then.

The NFL draft becomes a blur on the final day as teams select lesser-known players one after another.

By the end, it's helpful to take a look at the bigger picture.


The chart above shows which general positions NFC West teams targeted. Quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers are listed as skill players. The other group names are self-explanatory.

Seattle Seahawks seventh-round pick Jared Smith played defensive tackle at New Hampshire. He will play guard for Seattle. The chart reflects that change. There will be other tweaks and distinctions as we learn more about how teams plan to use players.

A few thoughts initially based on available information:

• RB picture: NFC West teams loaded up on running backs. That position was already evolving with Steven Jackson's departure from the St. Louis Rams and Beanie Wells' departure from the Arizona Cardinals. Spencer Ware, the running back Seattle selected from LSU in the sixth round, projects at fullback to some extent, coach Pete Carroll said.
• WR shifts: Danny Amendola, Brandon Gibson, Early Doucet, Randy Moss and Ben Obomanu are among the veteran wide receivers to leave NFC West teams this offseason. The division added Anquan Boldin and Percy Harvin before selecting five wideouts in the draft, four in the first four rounds.
• DT focus: Seattle drafted three players listed as defensive tackles, not counting Smith. No other team in the division drafted one. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians told reporters the team could address that position in free agency.
• Safety numbers: Every team in the division but Seattle needed a safety. The 49ers took Eric Reid in the first round. The Rams took T.J. McDonald early in the third. The Cardinals did not take one, but they plan for early third-round choice Tyrann Mathieu to play a hybrid safety-corner role. Mathieu is listed as a cornerback.
• Front seven: Think the 49ers wanted to help their front seven, which wore down last season and needs to develop players for the line in future seasons? San Francisco drafted three players listed as defensive ends. Tank Carradine is 275 pounds with versatility. Corey Lemonier, at 255 pounds, is more of an outside linebacker type. Quinton Dial is 318 pounds and a pure lineman.

The Seattle Seahawks entered the 2013 NFL draft with few (if any) pressing needs.

The team flaunted it a bit, it seemed, by using a second-round selection for a running back even though Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin combine to make that position one of great strength.

Seattle addressed one of its needs in the third round by selecting Penn State defensive tackle Jordan Hill with the 87th overall choice. San Francisco traded into the 88th slot to take pass-rusher Corey Lemonier from Auburn, and fellow division rival St. Louis was set to be on the clock shortly at No. 92.

The Seahawks will be saving money at defensive tackle in 2013 after letting Alan Branch leave in free agency. Seattle added free-agent defensive tackle Tony McDaniel in a modest deal. Hill will join the rotation. Scouting reports suggest he's better at rushing the passer than defending the run. We'll hear more from coach Pete Carroll in a bit.

The NFL does not crown division champs in April. Matt Williamson and I kept that in mind when breaking down his pre-draft positional rankings for NFC West teams.

Williamson, who scouts the NFL for ESPN.com, wraps up the series with thoughts on where NFC West teams stand overall.

Williamson: I think Seattle is the best team in the league right now.

Sando: Spoiler alert.

Williamson: The 49ers are the second-best team. The Rams are maybe 12th or in that neighborhood and a very legitimate playoff contender, particularly if they were in another division. But it wouldn't shock me if three teams from this division made the postseason.

Sando: Arizona sends its regards.

Williamson: I think Arizona is underrated, definitely better than most people probably realize. Carson Palmer will help. Bruce Arians will help. Everyone talks about Palmer getting crushed behind that Arizona line, but Arians can scheme that up.

Sando: Andrew Luck was under duress or hit while throwing more than any quarterback in the NFL last season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Arians was running that Colts offense. At the same time, Palmer has done a good job over his career getting rid of the football. He takes relatively few sacks.

Williamson: Ben Roethlisberger took hits when Arians was coordinating the Steelers' offense, but they still had a great offense throwing the deep ball with a bad offensive line. That was even more true with Indy. It's not like this coach [Arians] has never played with a bad offensive line.

Sando: Palmer will certainly benefit from playing with Larry Fitzgerald and a strong group of wide receivers.

Williamson: Last year, if you watched Raiders, Palmer had extreme knuckleheads playing receiver, running the wrong routes, dropping the ball. He’ll throw too many picks, but his circumstances will be better in Arizona.

Sando: It's only fitting we go on at some length about Arizona. We've spent quite a bit of time anointing Seattle and Arizona while pointing to what should be a bright future in St. Louis with all those draft choices.

Williamson: It just dawned on me that I ranked Seattle first or second on my list at every position but tight end. San Franciso actually has a couple fours. Some of these are pretty debatable, of course.

Sando: No question. The gap between first and fourth on the defensive line is miniscule. It's laughable in some ways to rank the 49ers fourth at more than one position on defense until you realize fourth in this division can still be really good. Back to the Cardinals, though. What do you think of their additions at running back?

Williamson: Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Williams, one can be very legit. The offensive line has to be better. It wasn't as bad in the second half of last season. They got an awful player off the field when they moved on from D'Anthony Batiste. Now you throw in Levi Brown and you are, say, the 25th-best line.

Sando: Sounds like the Cardinals think they'll be better than that. They could address the position in the draft, too. They will.

Williamson: Levi Brown is much better than a guy off the street, which is what Batiste was. I feel bad for Ken Whisenhunt. He had no chance.

Sando: We're out of time. Thanks for doing this, Matt. We'll revisit the rankings down the line.

The Seattle Seahawks' contract extension for safety Kam Chancellor goes against the grain in the NFC West.

The rest of the division has been slashing salary at the position.



Arizona cut starters Adrian Wilson and Kerry Rhodes. St. Louis cut starter Quintin Mikell while watching the other starter, Craig Dahl, sign a modest deal with San Francisco. The 49ers watched Pro Bowl free safety Dashon Goldson leave for Tampa Bay in free agency without making an effort to keep him.

The exact figures for Chancellor's new deal aren't yet known, but he will certainly become the highest-paid safety in the NFC West. ESPN's John Clayton reported the terms as five years and $35 million. Chancellor had one season remaining on his deal.

Chancellor turned 25 this month. That differentiated him from Wilson (33), Mikell (32), Rhodes (30), and Goldson (28). Another difference: Chancellor was drafted by his team's current coach and general manager. The other safeties listed were left behind from previous GMs and coaching staffs.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider made it clear during a news conference Monday that they were personally invested in Chancellor's development from 2010 fifth-round draft choice to team leader and Pro Bowl-caliber safety. For them, rewarding Chancellor reiterated the message that Seattle will reward its own players -- a point that arguably needed reinforcing after the team sprung for outsider Percy Harvin, among others, this offseason.

Re-signing strong safety Kam Chancellor was a priority for the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.

Coach Pete Carroll said so during the NFL owners meeting in Arizona last month.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the Seahawks have reached agreement on a new contract with Chancellor, who otherwise could have become an unrestricted free agent following the 2013 season. The Seahawks have called a news conference for 5 p.m. ET at team headquarters. ESPN's John Clayton reported the agreement Monday. I'll make sense of financial terms once they're on file with the league and easier to examine in their full context.

"It's a great day today," Chancellor tweeted before news broke.

Chancellor, a fifth-round choice in 2010, becomes the first Carroll-era Seahawks draft choice to sign an extension.

Left tackle Russell Okung and free safety Earl Thomas, the team's first-round picks in 2010, remain under contract. Golden Tate, a second-rounder in 2010, is entering the final year of his deal amid questions about how the team might allocate its finances at receiver for the long term following Percy Harvin's acquisition this offseason.

Chancellor, Okung and Thomas have earned Pro Bowl honors, making Seattle the only team with three such players from its 2010 draft class. A foot injury slowed Chancellor last season. He underwent surgery in January and was expected to be at full strength in 2013.

The Seahawks under Carroll and general manager John Schneider have re-signed Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane, Chris Clemons, Marshawn Lynch and Max Unger to significant contracts. Bryant, Mebane and Unger were draft choices left over from the team's previous leadership. Clemons and Lynch were acquired by trade.

Harvin signed a new deal following his acquisition by trade. Zach Miller and Sidney Rice were high-profile signings in free agency previously.

Chancellor carries added value beyond the typical safety for his unusual combination of size (6-foot-4 and 230 pounds) and coverage ability. His coverage seemed to suffer through injury last season, including when the Atlanta Falcons' Roddy White got behind the coverage for a touchdown in the playoffs. But when healthy, Chancellor covers ground better than anticipated for a safety with such unusual size. And he has remained a tone-setting presence in the secondary, including when he blasted San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis during a prime-time game late last season.

While the Seahawks could reasonably find another starting-caliber safety -- the 2013 draft supposedly has quite a few of them -- they would have a hard time finding one able to provide specifically what Chancellor provides to their defense. The team also seems to value Chancellor for his leadership and approach to the game. The Chancellor-Thomas pairing is one they want to keep.

The St. Louis Rams posted a 4-26 record against NFC West opponents over the five seasons preceding Jeff Fisher's arrival as head coach.

They were 4-1-1 against the NFC West under Fisher in 2012.

The Rams from 2007 through 2011 lost by 11.1 points per game in division play. The final scores for those games were 25-14 on average. Those figures flipped to plus-five points per game with a 20-15 average final score under Fisher.

"Fisher is a heckuva coach," ESPN's Matt Williamson said, "but he is behind two of the top five in the league when it comes to ranking head coaches in the NFC West."

Williamson, who scouts the NFL for ESPN.com, ranked the San Francisco 49ers' Jim Harbaugh first and the Seattle Seahawks' Pete Carroll second as part of his predraft positional rankings for NFC West teams.

We pick up the conversation there.

Williamson: You have to put Bruce Arians fourth even though Arizona made a good hire. Fisher vs. Carroll is really the only conversation and I think Fisher has done a good job with the Rams, including the team building aspect. You look at the RGIII trade, building this defensive line. And yet I thought Carroll should have been coach of the year last season.

Sando: We could have made that call on the Russell Wilson move alone. General manager John Schneider was the driving force behind drafting Wilson, but Carroll was the one who decided Wilson should be the starter in Week 1 -- a move I'm not even sure Schneider would have made so quickly. Coaches are under so much scrutiny that it's sometimes easy to make the decisions perceived to be "safest" in the short term. Starting Matt Flynn would have been the "safe" decision last year. It also would have been the wrong one. Carroll trusted what he saw from Wilson and made the call.

Williamson: He also gets the most from his guys. His team building has been phenomenal, starting with all the changes they made as soon as he got there. And then he brought along Wilson extremely well -- just did a phenomenal job there.

Sando: Carroll has admitted some shortcomings in the game-management department. He's called it going "hormonal" with some of his decision making. That is one area where I think he can continue to improve. As far as ranking the best coach in the division, it's tough to argue with the results in San Francisco. Harbaugh and staff have gotten more than anyone could have expected they would get from two completely different quarterbacks. The team has won consecutive division titles, reached two NFC Championship Games and gone to a Super Bowl.

Williamson: I think Harbaugh is the second-best coach in the league behind Bill Belichick. He took over a bad team and was competitive immediately. His offensive mind is off the charts. He got so much from Alex Smith, who I don't think is a very good player. He brought along Colin Kaepernick. They have the most physical and diverse offense. His offensive mind rivals anyone's and meanwhile, they've had the best defense in the league. They've been fortunate with so few defensive injuries, but you can't knock him for that. He was in the Super Bowl last year. He saw that day coming with Kaepernick and he planned for that last season. Randy Moss and A.J. Jenkins and Mario Manningham were not for Alex Smith. Those were all for that day when Kaepernick would start. And meanwhile, he did not hurt himself in the short term until Kaepernick was ready.

Sando: Putting Harbaugh up there with Belichick is high praise. It's interesting, I think, that Belichick enjoyed tremendous success after moving away from Drew Bledsoe, who was the safe choice at quarterback, and moving forward with a less-proven Tom Brady.

Williamson: The biggest problem for Seattle and San Francisco is what happens when they have expensive quarterbacks. They have such an advantage right now with great quarterback play costing them nothing. The Patriots won the Super Bowl before Brady was making huge money. There are some parallels that way.

Sando: The Patriots have been awfully close to winning it all more recently, but there's no question it's tougher building a dominant team when the quarterback's contract is eating up considerable cap space. Kaepernick is under contract through 2014, with a chance to renegotiate his current deal following the 2013 season. Wilson is signed through 2015 and cannot renegotiate until after the 2014 season.

Williamson: You're really tested two years from now if you win the Super Bowl and get raided like the Baltimore Ravens did and then have to pay your quarterbacks.

Sando: Fisher inherited a quarterback earning $50 million guaranteed under the old labor deal. Arians inherited Kevin Kolb, whose old contract is eating up $6 million in cap space for 2013 even though Kolb is playing for the Buffalo Bills now. Those situations put Fisher and Arians at a disadvantage.

Williamson: No argument there.

Sando: Overall, I'd say the NFC West is in good hands with two head coaches arguably ranked among the top five in the league, plus Fisher and now Arians, who happens to be the reigning NFL Coach of the Year for his work on an interim basis with Indianapolis last season. We'll revisit this one again following the 2013 season.

Marcus Trufant, Kelly Jennings, Ken Lucas, Josh Wilson and Roy Lewis were the Seattle Seahawks' cornerbacks when Pete Carroll arrived as head coach for the 2010 season.

That group consisted of two first-round picks, two second-rounders and an undrafted free agent. It should have been stellar, but it was not.

The team has become exponentially better at the position without investing much in its personnel. Richard Sherman was a fifth-round pick. Brandon Browner was playing in the CFL. The new slot corner, Antoine Winfield, signed for one year and $2 million.

Consider Matt Williamson impressed. Williamson, who scouts the NFL for ESPN.com, listed Seattle's corners No. 1 in the NFC West -- and beyond -- as part of his ongoing pre-draft positional rankings for division teams.

Williamson: Seattle to me has the best set of corners in the league, clearly. And then Winfield might be the best slot corner in the league. It's almost unfair.

Sando: Carroll coached the secondary in his early NFL days. He and general manager John Schneider have put together the best one in the NFL, stacked at safety and corner alike. I think the entire division is pretty strong at corner overall.

Williamson: These next three teams are close. St. Louis has the best starters of the remaining three teams. Arizona clearly has the best single starter of the remaining three in Patrick Peterson. The Niners have a lot of guys and who knows what they get out of Nnamdi Asomugha.

Sando: I don't think the 49ers are all that worried about their corner situation even though the pass defense faltered late last season.

Williamson: Nobody complalins about their corners when Justin Smith is healthy. We like to nitpick this San Francisco defense when there is nothing wrong with it. The corners are still in the top 15 position groups in the league.

Sando: I'd think every team in the NFC West could say that.

Williamson: Agreed. Being fourth in this division isn’t something to hang your head about. I could make a strong argument for San Francisco as second to Seattle. I like the Rams' starters, but Janoris Jenkins could be overrated at this point based on some of the big plays he has made. People are picking on him.

Sando: Trumaine Johnson was a nice addition in St. Louis as well, if he can stay out of trouble. And we haven't even mentioned Cortland Finnegan. I'm curious, what did you think of the Antoine Cason addition in Arizona?

Williamson: He struggled in San Diego last season. The Chargers were so dysfuntional. I think Cason has first-round skills. He is a quality player who is never going to be a Pro Bowler. He is above average. He is a middle-of-the-road to an above-average starter.

Sando: The Cardinals shuffled most of their secondary. That group will be interesting to watch. I still think Peterson is just getting started and can become the best corner in the league. For now, though, Sherman might legitimately claim that title.

A few thoughts after Minnesota Vikings free-agent cornerback Antoine Winfield told ESPN's Josina Anderson he had reached agreement on a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks:

• The fit: Winfield projects as the replacement for Marcus Trufant as the Seahawks' primary slot corner. Richard Sherman is unquestionably the No. 1 cornerback on the team. Brandon Browner projects as the other starter. Seattle still has plans and hopes for younger corners on the team, notably Jeremy Lane. Walter Thurmond, if healthy, could be part of the mix. DeShawn Shead is another young corner with potential. Trufant, 32, is a free agent and not expected back. The Seahawks could still draft a corner. They could decide to release Winfield after training camp, even. This is a one-year deal without significant salary-cap ramifications.

• Seahawks' Oldest Players

  Rank	Player	Age
  1	Antoine Winfield	35.8
  2	Chris Clemons	31.4
  3	Jon Ryan	31.3
  4	Heath Farwell	31.2
  5	Michael Robinson	30.1
  Source: ESPN Stats & Information

  Veteran presence: Winfield, who turns 36 on June 24, becomes the oldest player on the Seahawks' roster by more than four years. His addition adds a veteran voice to the defensive backs' meeting room in Seattle. He is older than Lane by more than 13 years. Sherman recently turned 25. Browner, though 28, has started less than full two seasons in the NFL. From afar, this might look like a case of Seattle seeking a veteran corner to help settle down the frequently outspoken Sherman. I've never sensed worry from coach Pete Carroll on that front, however. Trufant was a veteran corner, but Seattle wasn't trying to re-sign him. Winfield qualifies as a special case, an older player with a specific set of skills for Seattle to fit into its defense.
• Minnesota West: Winfield joins receivers Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin, plus offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, as high-profile Seahawks with ties to the Vikings. All were together in Minnesota as recently as 2010. Those ties could have helped Winfield feel more comfortable about changing teams for the first time since he left the Buffalo Bills for Minnesota following the 2003 season. The Seahawks are an attractive destination on the merits, however. Winfield accepted a one-year contract. He presumably could have gotten a one-year deal elsewhere, including in Minnesota.
• 49ers rivalry: Adding Winfield will strengthen perceptions that the Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers are trying to one-up each other this offseason after one half-game separated them in the 2012 standings. Some of these moves appear coincidental. To review, Winfield agreed to terms with Seattle a week after the division-rival 49ers signed another older former Pro Bowl corner in Nnamdi Asomugha. In both cases, the signing teams waited out the cornerbacks, signing them to one-year deals. The 49ers previously traded for receiver Anquan Boldin hours after news broke that Seattle was acquiring Harvin. Both teams recently added backup quarterbacks who entered the NFL as early-round picks. Both made those moves after trading away the backup quarterbacks they had previously signed as starters.

Earlier: A few thoughts on Winfield.

The Seattle Seahawks announced they'll receive a 2014 fifth-round draft choice and a 2015 conditional pick for trading Matt Flynn to the Oakland Raiders.

Seattle already has 10 choices in the 2013 draft. For trading purposes, the 2014 fifth-rounder Seattle is receiving would equate to a sixth-rounder this year. The 2015 conditional pick will presumably hinge on how well Flynn performs.

Oakland has only seven picks this year, none in the second or fifth rounds. The team wanted a quarterback without giving up picks in the 2013 draft.

Flynn becomes the third quarterback Seattle has traded since coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider arrived for the 2010 season. The team previously recouped seventh-round choices for Seneca Wallace and Tarvaris Jackson.

Seattle has also acquired one quarterback by trade over that span, adding Charlie Whitehurst from San Diego in 2010 for a 2011 third-round pick and an exchange of 2010 second-rounders. The Seahawks later got a compensatory seventh-round choice for Whitehurst after the quarterback re-signed with the Chargers in free agency.

By trading Flynn, the Seahawks gain $3.25 million in salary-cap space for 2013. They also clear $8.25 million in space for 2014. That was important because the team has already allocated most of its projected cap allotment for 2014 -- about $118 million -- for other players. The team could certainly gain 2014 cap room through a variety of means, so it's not like moving Flynn was critical. But there was no way under current circumstances the team was going to carry that $8.25 million cap figure for Flynn one year from now.

Percy Harvin was an MVP candidate with the Minnesota Vikings in mid-October, and then he was expendable five months later -- traded to the Seattle Seahawks at age 24.

The move made little sense on the surface. Teams generally do not trade uniquely talented players entering the primes of their careers.

There had to be more to this story, but how much more? How much risk did the Seahawks assume when they paid three draft choices to the Vikings and more than $25 million in guarantees to Harvin? Four days at the recent NFL owners meeting in Phoenix provided an opportunity to chase down answers. Not that Vikings coach Leslie Frazier was much help.

"There are a lot of layers to this situation," Frazier said, "and one day, when [we] sit down and write this book, we'll divulge all the layers. But it's complicated."

The Seahawks have been much clearer about their motivations. They see Harvin as a unique talent and someone whose unrelenting competitiveness -- a source of trouble for Harvin, particularly in his youth -- mirrors the very essence of coach Pete Carroll's program. When they connected with Harvin over Skype immediately following the trade, the multidimensional receiver had a message for them: He couldn't wait to practice against a secondary featuring combative cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner.

That kind of talk has obvious appeal for Carroll, who has made competition his mantra. But where the Seahawks see competitiveness, a general manager from another team saw risk.

"Harvin has been kicked out of programs his whole life," the GM said. "Not just in the NFL, but in high school and junior high. He has never proven to be sustainably coachable."

Harvin always had the talent. He won Virginia high school state championships in the long jump, triple jump, 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100-meter relay -- all in the same year. But his involvement in multiple heat-of-the-moment altercations led to repeated suspensions, an arrest and even his banishment from a high school sports league. A reported positive test for marijuana at the combine threw up another red flag.

Those incidents are ancient history. Harvin has never served an NFL suspension despite playing in an era when commissioner Roger Goodell has embraced a law-and-order approach to the role.

Harvin, drafted 22nd overall in 2009 after dominating at the University of Florida, has at times been as dynamic as any player in the NFL, scoring touchdowns as a receiver, runner and kickoff returner.

"The best all around player I ever seen or you'll ever see!" teammate and reigning MVP Adrian Peterson tweeted after the Vikings shipped Harvin to Seattle two weeks ago. "I feel like I just got kicked in the stomach."

Only injuries and spotty quarterback play have limited Harvin as a pro. But he was outspoken about his unhappiness in Minnesota last offseason. Reports of trade demands surfaced again more recently, strengthening perceptions of Harvin as difficult.

"I think that’s classic of a competitor that sometimes they push the limits," Carroll said. "You like that because that’s who they are. I don’t have any problem with that. I don’t have any problem with guys being highly, highly competitive. There’s an understanding that we had to come together on. We’ve already talked to Percy. I want him to be as competitive as he can be. We need to make sure it always helps our football team."

The teams drafting Jason Smith, Tyson Jackson, Aaron Curry, Mark Sanchez, Andre Smith, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Aaron Maybin, Knowshon Moreno, Larry English and Robert Ayers ahead of Harvin would have been much better off selecting Harvin despite repeated warnings. The teams drafting those players never could have leveraged them into what the Vikings are getting from Seattle. Not even close.

Which leads back to the question at hand: How much risk is Seattle taking?

General managers polled at the NFL owners meeting raised a few concerns from a Seahawks perspective.

• Financial risk: Committing $25 million guaranteed to an enigmatic, regularly injured player made some uncomfortable. The Vikings did not come right out and call Harvin uncoachable, but Frazier's comments certainly left that impression. Again, teams don't trade away supremely talented 24-year-old players without reason. The Seahawks are getting a player the Vikings couldn't manage. Not only that, they are empowering that player with all that guaranteed cash.
• Questionable trade-off: Giving up premium draft choices was another issue for some. Seattle traded the 25th and 214th picks of the 2013 draft and a 2014 third-rounder to the Vikings. The players Seattle could have drafted in those slots would have played under team-friendly rookie contracts. For example, the deal Dont'a Hightower signed with the New England Patriots as the 25th pick in 2012 could count less than $8 million against the cap over its four-year life. Harvin's contract is scheduled to consume $67 million in salary-cap space over its life.
• Locker-room implications: The Seahawks have a long list of young, talented players in line for new contracts over the next couple of years. They approach those negotiations having proved in spectacular fashion their willingness to pay absolute top dollar for a player who has never scored a touchdown or made a tackle for them. While it's debatable whether Seattle could have gotten hometown discounts from Kam Chancellor, Sherman, Earl Thomas or the others, they can forget about it now.

The Seahawks can answer the concerns pretty convincingly.

Carroll's ability to reach players is arguably unsurpassed in the NFL. Not many coaches could pull off piping hip-hop music into practices without coming off as phony, but Carroll does that and more. He is the antithesis in style and probably substance to Brad Childress, the uptight former Vikings coach. And with Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell signing off enthusiastically on the trade after coaching Harvin in Minnesota, the Seahawks proceeded without the reservations some teams would have brought to the deal.

"Darrell had a great relationship with Percy that I found out, after talking with Percy, was reciprocated," Carroll said. "They worked together really well. He raved about his competitiveness, raved about his work ethic, raved about his talent. It was just total positive, supportive perspective from Darrell on him. The best perspective that we could have called on was what Darrell told me. That cemented the idea, 'Let’s go for it.'"

The Seahawks, unlike the Vikings, also have a dynamic young quarterback to keep Harvin happy. Harvin flourished when Brett Favre was the Vikings' quarterback. Russell Wilson arrives at Seahawks headquarters around 6 a.m. during the offseason, demonstrating a competitive will that Harvin has said intrigued him.

"It just resonated with Percy," Carroll said.

Giving up high draft picks for the right to overpay a veteran prospect goes against what the Seahawks and most teams believe in philosophically. Seattle obviously felt as though the 25th pick in the draft wasn't likely to return a player with nearly the dynamism Harvin will offer from the beginning. The 2014 third-round pick that was part of the deal represents what Seattle would pay to move up five or six slots in the first round this year.

I was most interested in the potential fallout with Chancellor, Sherman, Thomas and the Seahawks' other Pro Bowl-caliber players working under cheap rookie deals. All will presumably welcome adding to their roster a playmaker with Harvin's credentials, but the dollar signs in their eyes had to grow in size as well.

"We are taking care of all of our guys, every single one of our guys," Carroll said. "We're working Kam right now and we're going to continue to work our guys."

Chancellor is scheduled to earn $1.3 million in 2013, the final year of his contract. Receiver Golden Tate is also scheduled for free agency in a year. Thomas and Sherman are signed through 2014. They're like planes circling over an airport, each eager to land a big-money deal.

One rival coach downplayed the consequences a Harvin-type contract will have in a locker room.

"Players understand the business side of the game," the St. Louis Rams' Jeff Fisher said. "The business side always sorts itself out. Guys go into that last year and tend to pick it up.

"Those things aren't a distraction. Maybe they are discussed off-campus, but not in a locker room."

The Seahawks' ongoing negotiations with Chancellor provide one test case. Recent history suggests Seattle could have other options as well. Chancellor was a fifth-round pick. So was Sherman. The Seahawks have a couple of fifth-round choices in the 2013 draft. Continuing to draft well would remove pressure from negotiations.

"We're not going to pay guys ahead of [schedule] just because we're working with their contracts," Carroll said, "but we know as our guys come up, those are all managed for the future and we have a big plan for all that.

"[GM] John [Schneider] has worked hard at it. And because we have worked so hard at it, we were in position where we had free-agency money to spend and hopefully we will continue to be able to manage it in that fashion."

In 2010, Pete Carroll's Seattle Seahawks famously drafted in the first round a safety from the University of Texas (Earl Thomas) over one Carroll coached at USC (Taylor Mays).

That turn of events came to mind upon reading an NFC West mailbag submission from Vladimir, a San Francisco 49ers fan in Belgrade.

"I wanted to ask if you can compare two recent college coaches, Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll, as to how many of their former players each has drafted," Vladimir wrote.

The 49ers have yet to draft a player from Stanford since Harbaugh became their coach in 2011. The Seahawks have drafted two players from USC since Carroll became coach in 2010.

The chart shows which NFL head coaches have drafted more than one player from Stanford and/or USC since 2010. We should note that the coaches themselves don't make draft decisions autonomously. There could have been times when the 49ers' and Seahawks' personnel people steered their head coaches away from drafting players each had coached in college. Conversely, Harbaugh and Carroll would have been more familiar with their former players' weaknesses, not just strengths. In some cases, they might have been the driving forces' behind their teams' decisions to steer clear of certain players from their pasts.

Carroll and Minnesota's Leslie Frazier are the only head coaches whose teams have selected more than one player from USC since 2010. Coaching turnover affects the number of opportunities. Fifteen current NFL head coaches have held their jobs since at least 2010.

Harbaugh and Stanford

2012 draft: The 49ers drafted A.J. Jenkins 30th when Stanford's Coby Fleener (the 34th choice that year) and Jonathan Martin (42nd) were available.

2011 draft: The 49ers drafted Chris Culliver 80th when Stanford's Sione Fua (97th) was available. Also that year, the 49ers selected Kendall Hunter 115th when Stanford's Owen Marecic (124th) and Richard Sherman (154th) were options. They also drafted Daniel Kilgore 163rd when Stanford's Ryan Whalen (167th) was an option.

Carroll and USC

2012 draft: Carroll's Seahawks drafted Bruce Irvin 15th when USC's Nick Perry (28th) was available. They drafted Bobby Wagner (47th), Russell Wilson (75th), Robert Turbin (106th) and Jaye Howard (114th) before the Vikings made Rhett Ellison (128th) the next USC player off the board.

2011 draft: Seattle drafted John Moffitt 75th when USC's Jurrell Casey (77th) and Shareece Wright (89th) were options. They drafted K.J. Wright 99th when USC's Jordan Cameron (102nd) was available.

Seattle drafted four additional players before USC's Ronald Johnson (182nd) and Allen Bradford (187th) were chosen. The Seahawks made Pep Levingston the 205th choice before USC's Stanley Havili (240th) and David Ausberry (241st) were chosen. Seattle then took USC linebacker Malcolm Smith with the 242nd choice.

2010 draft: Seattle chose Russell Okung sixth and Thomas 14th before Mays became the first USC player selected at No. 49.

The Seahawks took Golden Tate 60th when USC's Charles Brown (64th), Damian Williams (77th), Kevin Thomas (94th) and Everson Griffen (100th) were options. They took cornerback Walter Thurmond 111th when USC's Joe McKnight (112th) was available. Seattle drafted two more players before selecting USC's Anthony McCoy with the 185th choice.

PHOENIX -- Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll understands why people suspect his team is loading up for a one- or two-year shot at the Super Bowl.

Just don't expect him to buy the implication Seattle is sacrificing the future for the present.

"The last thing I would want to convey is that we were trying to take our big shot right now," Carroll said Wednesday from the NFL owners meeting. "That's not it. We tried to do it last year. We're trying to do it this year."

Trading the 25th and 214th picks to Minnesota along with a 2014 third-rounder brought Percy Harvin to Seattle in spectacular fashion. The Seahawks then signed Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett in free agency to bolster their pass rush.

The move to get Harvin was the definition of aggressive. Avril and Bennett carried much lower price tags.

Seattle was much more active in the trade market back in 2010, at least in terms of volume.

"If you have watched the way [general manager] John [Schneider] and I have operated, we have gone for it every chance we've gotten," Carroll said. "We have set out to compete at every single opportunity that presents itself and make the most of it.

"Because of good management on John’s end of it, we had some cap room to do some things. We have just fit things together that also were part of the long-range plan. We have a very young football team that we need to tend to as their time comes up with contract issues, and we have that all mapped out and planned out."

Carroll also rejected the implication that Seattle was making moves after deciding what it would take to overcome San Francisco in the NFC West.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," Carroll replied. "That's what you think. We have to get better. The last thing we are going to do is evaluate how we are based on everybody else. To me, that is one of the worst mistakes you can make. The other factors -- who won the league last year -- I could care less. We can’t control that."

PHOENIX -- A few NFC West notes before heading to the airport for a trip home following the NFL owners meeting, which concluded Wednesday:

Arizona Cardinals: The team is leaving open the door for signing Cleveland Browns unrestricted free-agent receiver Josh Cribbs, who is recovering from knee surgery. Cribbs visited the Cardinals this week, but he could be weeks away from passing a physical. ... The Cardinals have signed nine players at a combined charge of $12.9 million against the 2013 salary cap after clearing $13 million in space by releasing Kevin Kolb and Kerry Rhodes. The nine: Rashard Mendenhall, Jerraud Powers, Drew Stanton, Antoine Cason, Jasper Brinkley, Lorenzo Alexander, Rashad Johnson, Matt Shaughnessy and Yeremiah Bell. ... Coach Bruce Arians said he sees six quarterbacks in the 2013 draft with clear potential to stick in the NFL for the long term. Arians also said he thought the Cardinals could win regular-season and playoff games with Stanton as the starter. The team could still add to the position, of course, but Arians plans to name a starter sooner rather than later -- definitely before training camp.

St. Louis Rams: The Rams expect to add another big running back after parting with Steven Jackson. Coach Jeff Fisher wants second-year back Daryl Richardson to get more touches, especially as a receiver. He also expects more from 2012 second-round pick Isaiah Pead. ... Fisher said he goes strictly by feel with no regard for advanced stats when making in-game decisions such as when to go for it on fourth down. ... The Rams will look to re-sign veteran safety Quintin Mikell, who was released with salary-cap savings in mind. The team's other starting safety from last season, Craig Dahl, signed with San Francisco last week. ... Fisher sees receiver Chris Givens as more than a deep threat, noting that one of Givens' five receptions covering 50-plus yards came on a slant route. ... Fisher, unlike Pittsburgh Steelers counterpart Mike Tomlin, thinks the read-option will be around for a while.

San Francisco 49ers: Coach Jim Harbaugh gushed over receiver Ricardo Lockette, a physically gifted prospect signed last season after stints on Seattle's practice squad and 53-man roster. "There is something special there -- I can feel it," Harbaugh said. Lockette had 44- and 61-yard receptions for Seattle late in the 2011 season. ... Colin Kaepernick is the 49ers' undisputed starting quarterback, but Harbaugh would like to make the position more competitive after Alex Smith's departure by trade. Harbaugh said the quarterback position is "no sacred cow" in terms of being immune from competition. ... Harbaugh and his brother, John, spent Sunday afternoon playing in the hotel pool like a couple of kids. "Did you see us breaking all the rules on the slide?" John Harbaugh asked. "It was a race down the slide. Two guys diving at the same time and racing down the slide. The only time we didn't go down [the slides] together was when we had two kids stacked on us."

Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks think former Cardinals receiver Stephen Williams could have a bright future. ... Defensive end Cliff Avril's addition could affect the Seahawks' needs at linebacker. Coach Pete Carroll compared Avril in body type to Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews, two players Carroll coached at USC. He said Avril could play strongside linebacker at times. That arrangement could work because K.J. Wright has the flexibility to play weakside LB, something Wright already does in the nickel defense. Those roles will sort out through training camp. ... Carroll said he "reached out" to Richard Sherman after the cornerback's contentious exchange with Skip Bayless on ESPN's "First Take." Carroll said they discussed humility and said Sherman is "working on ways to express himself." Carroll supported Sherman and said the team has no concerns with the All-Pro corner. I'll revisit that one separately.

PHOENIX -- Like a lot of NFL coaches, the Seattle Seahawks' Pete Carroll thinks officials will have a hard time enforcing a new rule banning ball carriers from initiating contact with the crowns of their helmets when outside the tackle box.

Carroll supports the rule anyway while acknowledging that his own running back, the exceedingly punishing Marshawn Lynch, might have to adjust some.

"It's a challenging proposal in that it's for the officials to determine whether there was intent," Carroll said Wednesday from the NFL owners meeting. "We feel as coaches that it’s going to be very challenging for those guys to call. But it’s a good move to teach football players of all levels how to not lead with their helmets."

Earlier in the week, St. Louis Rams coach and competition committee member Jeff Fisher joined vice president of officiating Dean Blandino in walking reporters through a video presentation on the rule. I raised the same point Carroll made about officials having to determine intent.

"We are not officiating intent," Blandino replied "We are looking for the lowering of the head and the delivering of the blow with the crown. We look at the helmet as four sides: there is the facemask, there [are] the sides, there is the hairline-forehead, which is just above the facemask, and then the crown. If you put a beanie on top of your head, that would be the crown there."

The league evaluated every play from every game of Week 16 last season. It found 34 cases of helmet-to-helmet collisions, five of them in violation of the new rules.

The rule applies only to collisions outside the tackle box, which extends 3 yards past the line of scrimmage between the offensive tackles.

"It's that play where two players are coming together like this and dropping their helmets where they make contact with the top crown of the helmet," Fisher said. "Basically, the best way to phrase this is we're bringing the shoulder back in the game. We all know the helmet is a protective device; it's not designed to be used like it's being used as of late and we want to protect our players, specifically out in space."

Carroll expects a sometimes bumpy transition period where made and missed calls will generate controversy. But he thinks the NFL's commitment to improving safety justifies the change.

"This is one of those areas that has been accepted for years and years and years in the league," Carroll said, "as a play that is just part of the game that we are going to try to affect."

As for Lynch?

"He's a mixture, a very unique talent in the way he plays," Carroll said. "But he is not a guy that definitely leads with his helmet all the time."