Seattle Seahawks Close Signing CB Antoine Winfield

Dec 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield (26) tackles St. Louis Rams wide receiver Austin Pettis (18) during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Vikings defeated the Rams 36-22. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN’s Ed Werder is reporting that the Seahawks and free agent corner back Antoine Winfield are close to agreeing on a contract.

Winfield will turn 36 this year, so he clearly isn’t a long term solution for the Seahawks. This move would seem to indicate that the Seahawks have decided they cannot depend on Walter Thurmond to stay healthy.

Winfield is one of the NFL’s premier performers at covering slot receivers, and is exceptional at tackling and providing run support. His speed and ability are a perfect match for what Pete Carroll wants in a nickel corner for this defense, and he’ll provide a nice upgrade from what Marcus Trufant provided a year ago.

The part about this that is truly interesting to me, is that Winfield would be the top CB on many teams in the NFL. In Seattle, he’s the #3 CB behind Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner. Winfield is going to make the already scary Seahawk’s secondary even more so. The Legion of Boom is certainly going to scare opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators in 2013.

I’m very curious as to the financial terms of this deal. Its hard to believe that the Seahawks are willing to pay Winfield what he’s worth. Doing so would likely mean that a large salary cut is coming from another position. Either that, or the Seahawks have concluded that they cannot afford to keep Kam Chancellor, thus holding onto the cap space needed for his extension is no longer needed.

I’m hoping that Winfield found the CB market lacking this year, and signed an extremely team friendly deal just to get a shot at a Super Bowl. It’s not likely, but a guy can dream, right?