The Devon Witherspoon situation could get awkward

Why negotiations are not "going smooth" and the Seahawks could move forward without Witherspoon in training camp

The Seattle Seahawks drafted Devon Witherspoon with their highest draft pick in 14 years because they believed he would become a great NFL player, which he certainly has lived up to over his first three seasons. Unfortunately, being a great football player is only one of the ingredients necessary to getting a contract extension that resets the market at your position, and Witherspoon’s negotiations with John Schneider have not gone smoothly, according to multiple different insiders.

If Witherspoon played quarterback, wide receiver, or pass rusher, the rumors would be flying around 24/7 and speculation would be so constant that you would have gone mad months ago from the non-news news. But as a cornerback, even as a three-time Pro Bowl, Super Bowl-winning, top-five pick cornerback, the media has largely ignored Witherspoon’s prolonged standoff.

A situation that gets closer to an awkward training camp hold-in by the day.

Devon Witherspoon celebrates with the Lombardi Trophy/Photo by NFL

Because there is smoke there. A lot of it.

Whether it is a hold-in, a holdout, or a trade that nobody sees coming (except for us because I wrote about it a month ago) and the blame lies with neither Witherspoon or the Seahawks.

This is a circumstantial flaw created at the crossroads of the rookie pay scale, the CBA, positional value, the salary cap, the desire to be called “highest-paid” for a week or two, and Seattle being a victim of their own success.

Will Witherspoon refuse to practice until he gets an extension, if no deal is reached by training camp? Are the Seahawks prepared to go as far as putting Witherspoon on the trade block, if his bottom dollar is higher than their best offer? What if Witherspoon does go on the trade block, but no team is offering as much as Seattle wants for him?

I’ve compiled the latest reports, assessed all the possible outcomes based on what history tells us about these increasingly-common standoffs, and come to a conclusion of what will most likely happen at the end of the biggest NFL story that the NFL is ignoring.