Seattle Seahawks defensive back Kam Chancellor scheduled a face-to-face meeting with the NFL club with plans to end his holdout for a new contract to boost his 2015 salary.
The 27-year-old strong safety held out for the first two games of the NFL campaign and the Seahawks lost them both, delivering their hopes of a third consecutive Super Bowl berth a major setback.
The Seahawks had been willing to make some adjustments in Chancellor’s deal, but did not want to make major changes that might open the door for other players to follow his example.
By sitting out, Chancellor forfeited $535,294 in salary and was fined $1.1 million by the club. The Seahawks could also seek almost $500,000 of his signing bonus payment back.
But the team might also forgive the financial punishments in order to welcome back a vital cog in the squad that won the 2014 Super Bowl and lost to New England only in the final seconds of last February’s Super Bowl.
Chancellor is a major leader for the Seahawks off the field, helping impose discipline when needed, and a valuable part of their hard-hitting “Legion of Boom” defensive backfield on the field.
Without Chancellor the Seattle defensive unit has been lackluster and less threatening to receivers who run across the middle of the field. The Seahawks have surrendered 11 passes of 20-or-more-yards, second-most in the NFL.
Seattle ranks 17th in the 32-team league in total defense and 21st in pass defending.
At 0-2 after losses to St. Louis and Green Bay, the Seahawks are already two games behind unbeaten NFC West division leader Arizona.
It would not come as a surprise if it marks a turning point in their season. Chancellor was one of the team’s emotional leaders during several tumultuous stretches during the 2014 season. According to NFL Media’s Michael Robinson, he also does head coach Pete Carroll’s dirty work in terms of player discipline.
In addition to Robinson, NFL Media’s Willie McGinest also sang Chancellor’s praises in a piece on NFL.com, noting that the hard hitting cover safety reminded him of Rodney Harrison from some of New England’s most dominant defenses in the mid-2000s.