Chris Clemons contract to get him cut? Think again…

Don’t count out Chris Clemons making the Seattle Seahawks’ roster for 2016 just because of his contract. The veteran’s contract is team-friendly enough to give him a fair shot at sticking in Seattle.

Chris Clemons is back with the Seattle Seahawks, but his contract indicates that might be a short-term situation. As in, there is no guarantee that he’ll make the roster this year. That’s true, and definitely is the narrative out there right now, but let’s slow down on the “Clemons won’t make the roster” train.

For starters, many the points other have made are accurate. Clemons’ new contract only had $150,ooo guaranteed. That is just 1 percent of the maximum $1.5 million he could earn. For a veteran like Clemons, that’s practically nothing.

For the Seahawks, it is also practically nothing. It certainly won’t make the team hesitate to cut him.

If fact though, this is a contract that might help him stick. Clemons has per-game roster bonuses, and while usually these are an incentive for a team to keep someone else, that isn’t the case here.

Clemons’ weekly bonuses require that he be on the active roster on game day in order to get them. The Seahawks can keep Clemons inactive and use him as injury insurance without having to pay him the extra amount.

Also keep in mind that the players Clemons will be competing for a roster spot with aren’t necessarily making a lot less. The idea that Clemons is competing with players that make a small fraction of what he does is a myth.

Ryan Robinson is set to make $1.1 million in 2016. That’s just $25,000-$400,000 less than Clemons (depending on how many bonuses Clemons earns). Robinson is also coming off of an Achilles tear, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be as explosive as he was in camp last year. The rest of the DEs on the roster all make more than Clemons does.

The biggest threat to Clemons would be someone who isn’t on the roster. They won’t be adding any more veteran players at the position, so we’re talking about a draft pick or an undrafted free agent. Those will either be a first-round pick or they’ll make significantly less Robinson. Either way, Clemons ends up in a major disadvantage there.

This isn’t to say that Clemons is a lock to make roster either. He’s far from it, but counting him out just because of the lack of guaranteed money in his contract isn’t a good idea.