There has been much speculation over the Seattle Seahawks and if they would trade Frank Clark the past few weeks. Now, the speculation is done, and Clark has been traded to the Chiefs for multiple high draft picks. If you were like me, you didn’t believe that the Seahawks would trade Clark, even though he was holding out for a big contract. Seattle does not have a pass rush outside of Jarran Reed after this move. But does that mean it was a bad trade?
Trading Clark makes sense. It is as simple as that. He wanted a bigger contract than Seattle was willing to give him. He has a very high value at this point, and Seattle only had four picks in the NFL Draft this week. Seattle took a second-round pick from 2015 (Clark) and flipped him for a first-round pick this year (29thoverall), a second-round pick next year and they swapped third-round picks this year. This year’s draft class is loaded with defensive line talent, so this is the perfect time to trade a pass rusher for a pick. And one of the most interesting things about this trade to me is that Clark was not under contract with Seattle, he had a franchise tag put on him but did not sign it. This is a huge move for Seattle that could turn pay dividends in the short and long term.
Frank Clark was given a five-year $105 million contract with $63.5 million guaranteed by the Chiefs. That is not something Seattle could have matched and still stuck to their plan of signing Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner and Jarran Reed, while still keeping the roster competitive at least. The Chiefs are going all in on a Super Bowl right now. Because they have Patrick Mahomes under his rookie contract and have not had to shell out top quarterback money for him, they have room to bring in other big-name guys. Clark will thrive with this team I believe. They score so much he will be able to pass rush a lot when teams are behind, and I think he will capitalize.
What does Seattle do now though? Do they trust that whoever they bring in from the draft will be able to produce? I think that is likely the case. With two first-round picks they can pick someone and use the other pick to trade down, as they usually do. Someone like Brian Burns from Florida State could be a target for Seattle, he has the athletic profile they like. There are also several veteran free-agent pass rushers they could sign to help them, like Ezekiel Ansah.
No matter what they do, they will be expected to find impact players that can help the once vaunted Seahawk defense. Because there are not many pass rushers on the Seattle roster that inspire a lot of confidence, there are unproven guys who are going to be asked to step up and fill a big hole.
