Seahawks Finalize Whitehurst Deal; Agree To Contract Extension

Early in the day Wednesday the Arizona Cardinals came to an agreement with free agent quarterback Derek Anderson on a two-year $7.25 million dollar contract which ended the Cardinals pursuit of restricted free agent quarterback Charlie Whitehurst.

Charlie Whitehurst’s decision came down to the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks and Whitehurst informed the Chargers front office that he wanted to be traded to Seattle.

Today the Seahawks and Chargers came to trade agreement for restricted free agent quarterback Charlie Whitehurst. The Seahawks will send their second-round pick (No. 40 overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft to the Chargers in exchange for quarterback Charlie Whitehurst and their second-round pick (No. 60 overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft.

After the trade was finalized the Seahawks and Whitehurst came to an agreement on a two-year, $10 million dollar contract making him the teams second-string quarterback and the future starting quarterback.

Seattle paid a steep price for an unproven quarterback, who while still young has not played in an NFL regular season game in his five year career.

The Seahawks gave up twenty spots in the 2010 draft as well as a third-round pick in 2011 for Whitehurst, who Pete Carroll believes has what it takes to be a franchise quarterback for the Seahawks and it’s impossible to judge if Whitehurst can be that franchise quarterback.

By acquiring Whitehurst as well as giving the quarterback a sizable contract extension it signals that the Seahawks won’t be selecting a top quarterback in the upcoming April NFL Draft, which includes heavily rumored Jimmy Clausen.

It will have to be a wait-and-see approach by Seattle Seahawks fans before they know exactly what Whitehurst can bring to the field for the Seattle Seahawks.

Whitehurst’s bio is not that thick by any means but it is still solid.

Whitehurst was an original third-round pick (No. 81 overall) in the 2006 NFL Draft out of Clemson. Whitehurst has not recorded any NFL stats in the regular season and has no accolades from either college or pro.

He has pro size at 6-4 and 227 lbs which a good NFL size. Other than that there is nothing on Whitehurst.

Notes:

- The Seahawks have signed linebacker Matt McCoy to a one-year contract for just above the league minimum. McCoy was with Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley when he was in Tampa.

- The Seahawks have acquired defensive end Chris Clemons and a fourth-round pick in 2010 from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for defensive end Darryl Tapp.

- The Seahawks have told guard Rob Sims to “stay away” from the teams Renton facilities because of a pending trade which should be completed in the next 48-hours.

You can follow Lars at Twitter http://twitter.com/larshanson

Check out Lars’ sports blog: http://hansonsportsblog.blogspot.com/

Steelers QB Roethlisberger could interest Seattle Seahawks

With Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback recently being in the news for harassment as well as other possible charges involving an incident in Atlanta, the Rooney family is not so high on Big Ben with this second off the field incident in his career and could be willing to part with the star quarterback if the Rooney’s don’t feel Ben is a part of the family.

The Steelers have said they would be content with current backup Dennis Dixon as the team’s starting quarterback or could acquire one via the NFL draft, but Dixon would be the more immediate choice.

Now who would be interested in the 28-year old quarterback?

The Seattle Seahawks led by new head coach Pete Carroll would be the first team that would be a great fit for Roethlisberger, while being rumor to be searching around the league for a new franchise quarterback with the aging Matt Hasselbeck not sitting well with Carroll.

So far Kevin Kolb, Jimmy Clausen, Derek Anderson, Charlie Whitehurst and possibly Donovan McNabb are on Pete Carroll’s “possible quarterback list”. Could Ben Roethlisberger’s name be added to that list?

Yes.

If you look at the situation that is currently in front of Pete Carroll when it comes to his franchise quarterback there is no one better on that list then Ben Roethlisberger.

Now you also have to look at it from the Pittsburgh Steelers point of view with their franchise taking a step back this past season.

The Steelers currently hold the No. 18 overall pick in the upcoming 2010 NFL draft which is too far for Jimmy Clausen and Sam Bradford to fall. Then you have to look at the next few quarterbacks in the draft with Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow, Jevan Sneed and others behind the top two.

With Seattle holding the No. 6, No. 14 and No. 40 overall picks in the draft as well as a few players the Steelers would be interested in to fill some holes on defense it would seem that both teams could come to an agreement on a trade.

The Seahawks currently have linebackers David Hawthorne and Leroy Hill who can both fill the Steelers need at linebacker, more likely Hill because he’s an inside linebacker with talent and experience where Hawthorne is still a backup.

What would be the most logical trade proposal involving the Seahawks-Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger would be like this.

The Seahawks would send the No. 14 pick, No. 101 pick, second-round pick in 2011 and Leroy Hill to the Steelers for Ben Roethlisberger and a third-round pick in the 2010 draft.

Now looking at the proposal, what does it do for both teams involved?

It gives the Steelers a top 15 pick in the 2010 draft where they could fill their offensive line issues at either guard with Idaho’s Mike Iutpi or an offensive tackle like Anthony Davis from Rutgers, Trent Williams from Oklahoma or Bruce Campbell from Maryland whichever is still available.

Then it gives them a starting inside linebacker in their 3-4 defense who can come in right away and make an immediate impact, and is also signed long-term through 2013. Also with the added 2011 pick it gives them options to make a later trade for another first-round pick in 2011 should they decide they want another first-round pick.

What it gives the Seahawks is a proven, talented, young starting quarterback that has already won two Super Bowls (one against Seattle) and can make everyone else around him look better.

Now the Seahawks would be giving up a lot in order to Roethlisberger but it gives the Seahawks what they’ve been searching for, a true franchise quarterback who’s already signed long-term and one that you don’t have to groom behind Hasselbeck or try to build through the draft in the later rounds.

Also when you look at the Seahawks giving up the No. 14 pick in the draft for Roethlisberger you have to look at the possibilities of who they could be drafting compared to what Roethlisberger would bring.

Defensive end Derrick Morgan, offensive tackle Anthony Davis, running back C.J Spiller would not bring the immediate impact that the Seahawks need like Roethlisberger would.

Now if the Seahawks were to make this trade it still leaves them with the No. 6 overall pick in the draft as well as a third-round pick where they could pickup an offensive tackle to fit in Alex Gibbs’ zone blocking scheme.

If the Seahawks wanted to really make their offense a complete Super Bowl caliber offense they could seal the deal on Broncos’ restricted free agent Brandon Marshall and sign him to an offer sheet giving Roethlisberger and the Seahawks a true No. 1 wide receiver.

It’s not really asking a lot it just has a lot of moving parts. It’s an interesting scenario, one that could become a reality should the Steelers and the Rooney family decides they don’t want their team picture tarnished by Roethlisberger’s off-field problems.

NOTES:

Talking with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the rumors about the New York Jets trading for Brandon Marshall “have no legs” so consider that Marshall rumor along with the Bengals rumor of bogus, the Seattle Seahawks still remain the only real team involved with Brandon Marshall.

-The Seahawks signed former Patriots tight-end Chris Baker to a two-year contract, making him the No. 2 tight-end behind John Carlson.

- The Seahawks are still negotiating with restricted free agent quarterback Charlie Whitehurst but not deal is official as of yet.

You can follow Lars at Twitter http://twitter.com/larshanson

Check out Lars’ sports blog: http://hansonsportsblog.blogspot.com/