Atlanta Falcons: Is Kam Chancellor a trade option for Falcons?
An intriguing story to follow is the future of Seahawks star safety Kam Chancellor. Chancellor has made it clear this offseason he wants a new contract, and is planning to continue his holdout into the regular season if he doesn’t get his wish.
Seahawks' deal for S Kelcie McCray is a public sign of what they've told Kam Chancellor privately: They're not planning to negotiate.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 5, 2015
His holdout has sparked the interest of a number of NFL teams. Among them is the New York Giants, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Despite the interest, the Seahawks “have not been willing to entertain any trade talks”, reports Rapoport.
Right now, it seems the Seahawks are testing Chancellor. Let’s see if the holdout continues once real football begins next week. There’s a chance that when the regular season begins, the star safety decides to return to the field and accept he’s not getting his wish.
But if he stands firm and refuses to play, could the Seahawks try and recoup value by sending him elsewhere? If this is the case, the Atlanta Falcons should pick up the phone. Dan Quinn is trying to build the Atlanta defense from the ground up after the unit ranked dead last in 2014, and what better way than to bring in not only one of the league’s top safeties, but a player he knows very well.
Quinn of course spent the past two years in Seattle as defensive coordinator, with both seasons resulting in a Super Bowl berth. A large part of the success was due to the ‘Legion of Boom’, which Chancellor played a major role in. Bringing him to Atlanta wouldn’t need much of a transition as he would be familiar with Quinn’s philosophy and scheme.
Not only is Chancellor an elite safety, but he is also an excellent special teams player. Who can forget his incredible special teams play against the Carolina Panthers in the playoffs last year?
Bringing Chancellor to Atlanta would mean giving him a big payout on a long-term deal, but to fill your defense with stars, you’re going to need to spend money. A secondary featuring Chancellor at safety and Desmond Trufant at cornerback would be fun to watch.
It’s unlikely, very unlikely. The Seahawks will probably resolve this some way or another, and we can expect to see him lining up for Seattle at some point this season. But if there is any possibility of a trade, general manager Thomas Dimitroff should pick up his phone and don’t stop until a deal is agreed.
What are your thoughts?
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