Should Seattle Trade Curry?

Should the Seahawks trade Aaron Curry? This question came up on ESPN’s weekly NFL chat, and the answer might surprise you.

"Yes, I think the Seahawks would be amenable to that sort of deal. They said as much through their actions when they shortened his contract in exchange for lowering some of the guaranteed money. Curry played pretty well against the 49ers in the opener. He’s not necessarily finished in Seattle. But I do think the Seahawks would like to get value for him instead of just watching him walk in free agency after the 2012 season. A trade would not necessarily have to happen now, though."

Personally, I think that this scenario is more likely that than most people think. By removing all the guaranteed money from the 2012 portion of his contract, the Seahawks financially made Curry a very tradable player. By shortening his deal, they also made it clear that Curry wasn’t in their long term plans.

Lets make it clear though, the Seahawks wont be getting back anything close to what they gave up to get Curry: the 4th overall pick in the draft. That just isn’t going to happen. It was a really poor use of such a high draft pick, and there’s very little chance that anyone gives up a first rounder for Curry.

The biggest problem that Curry has had in Seattle is that he’s been mis-cast in the Seahawk Defense. Curry isn’t a pass rusher, so asking him to play Defensive End lead to very poor production.

What Curry is, is a guy to fights off blocks and makes tackles in the running game. When that is his focus, than Curry actually plays well. He can also cover RBs and TE in the passing game. In short, he’s your typical strong side or middle linebacker. What he does best is manhandle the TE in the running game and keep plays from being able to get outside, but that’s not something you draft a guy #4 overall for. Curry is beast at linebacker in terms of size and strength. Athletically, there’s a reason why every draft analyst thought he was a top 10 pick even though he played linebacker, a position not typically picked high in the draft.

I’ve felt from the beginning that that 4-3 defense was a bad fit for Curry. His skills, and considerable athleticism, aren’t used effectively in the 4-3. Instead, picture him as an inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. He could use his speed to get to the outside and chase down RB before they can turn the corner and hammer RBs in the hole when they run inside.

The Curry – Seattle matchup has a bad one from the start, but don’t be surprised if he moves on to another team and quietly becomes one the game’s top linebackers.