Seahawks: Is a Russell Okung reunion on the way for 2017?
By Keith Myers
Gregg Rosenthal thinks Russell Okung should return to the Seattle Seahawks, but that reunion remains extremely unlikely.
Free agency is still a couple of weeks away, but the clock is already ticking for teams that have to make decisions on players with certain contract clauses. One of those players is former Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung, who is due for a large raise if he is still on Denver’s roster when the league-year begins.
NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal believes that Okung should return to Seattle after his inevitable release.
"Offensive line coach Tom Cable appears to prefer molding former basketball players and True Value hardware salesmen into NFL linemen rather than working with actual NFL linemen. It’s not working. In Okung, the Seahawks could bring back GM John Schneider’s first draft pick with Pete Carroll at a reduced price. Okung is not currently a free agent, but the Broncosare expected to release him before picking up a costly option in his contract."
It is tough to disagree overall. Okung would give Seattle the veteran lineman the Seahawks need and fill their gaping hole at offensive tackle. If Seattle can get him on the cheap, that’s even better.
Unfortunately, things aren’t that simple. Okung’s departure from Seattle wasn’t exactly the smoothest transition. Okung felt the Seahawks disrespected him and he ultimately left Seattle without even having a formal offer on the table for his consideration.
As you may recall, Okung decided to go into free agency without an agent and represent himself. That put the Seahawks in the awkward position of having to tell Okung that he wasn’t worth what he thought he was worth, and having to do it to his face with no agent to work as a go-between.
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That resulted in some hurt feelings, and Okung ended up in Denver playing for a fraction of what of he’d asked for to stay with the Seahawks. So, ya… it’s complicated.
So while this feels like a good fit and one that most fans would be happy see, it remains unlikely. bruised egos don’t tend to heal that easily.