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I did not see this coming. According to sources, the Seahawks have traded this year's 1st round pick, 7th round pick, and a mid-round pick next season for Percy Harvin.

According to FOX Sports' Jay Glazer, the Minnesota Vikings have agreed to trade receiver Percy Harvin to the Seattle Seahawks for draft picks. Harvin, the Vikings' first-round pick in 2009, had expressed displeasure about his current contractual situation -- according to some reports, he had demanded a trade out of Minnesota recently. Glazer reports that the deal is done pending a physical.

The move would re-unite Harvin with two old friends -- offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who served that same function for the Vikings from 2006 through 2010, and fellow receiver Sidney Rice, who was drafted by the Vikings in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Rice signed a free-agent contract with the Seahawks before the 2011 season.

I'm shocked for a couple reasons: That's a huge price to pay in terms of picks, and that's a giant financial commitment to make to a player considering the contracts we're going to have to shell out in the not to distant future. But in terms of offensive firepower...my goodness. Adding Harvin to what we already have? Rice/Tate/Harvin is a very dynamic collection.

I don't know how accurate this is but it's interesting if true. Seattle's never been considered a preferred destination for top NFL talent period.

New acquired Seattle Seahawks WR Percy Harvin was given a chance to list teams that he would be open to being traded too and the Seahawks were on top of that list. He also listed the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers as his top 3 teams. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers rounded out his top 5 list.

http://www.profootballcentral.com/2013/03/11/percy-had-seattle-on-top-of-preferred-teams/

I'm actually ok with the price. I don't think you draft anyone better than him with a 1st in almost any scenario.

I am wondering though:

Baldwin/Tate- who takes the biggest hit on snaps? Doug is money clutch and Tate has started to come on and be a big time playmakers that runs amazingly well after the catch.

ive also heard he wants calvin johnson money, 16 mil a year. notta chance he gets that kind of money. happy hes here making our team the one to watch next year. i dont think the picks we gave up was too much, a pretty crummy late 1st and 7th this year, and one mid round pick next year. we had, what... 11 or so picks this upcoming draft? we will still find gems just like the last couple years they know what players will work in their system.

overall, GREAT way to start the offseason!

also is this the end of Leon Washington?

Danny Darko wrote:I'm actually ok with the price. I don't think you draft anyone better than him with a 1st in almost any scenario.

I am wondering though:

Baldwin/Tate- who takes the biggest hit on snaps? Doug is money clutch and Tate has started to come on and be a big time playmakers that runs amazingly well after the catch.

I think Baldwin loses the reps. I've seen some people wonder why the Seahawks didn't just grab Mike Wallace and keep the picks. Well...that assumes Wallace wants to come here, which he may not. Also Harvin was supposedly on the shortlist to go the Niners [who responded by trading nothing for Boldin...nice move]. It's a hefty price to pay, but you add a top talent and keep him away from a rival.

I think adding Harvin works better anyway. Harvin's YAC and creativity are second to none. If you have Harvin in the slot [where he can separate and have room to create] then you're allowing Tate to stretch defenses over the top. How much attention can defensive secondaries afford to pay to Tate? Do you focus on the deep ball and give Harvin room to operate? This completely opens up the offense, and has to free things up a bit for Tate/Rice on the outside.

I think Leon's gone. As great as his vision is, he doesn't have great breakaway speed anymore and the money can be spent elsewhere.

i was the guy advocating to take cal wr keenan allen with our first, so i love this trade. harvin is a hell of a lot better than keenan allen.

TTown wrote:i was the guy advocating to take cal wr keenan allen with our first, so i love this trade. harvin is a hell of a lot better than keenan allen.

Or likely any other player we could've nabbed at #25. So, what's next? All-in on fixing the pass rush?

I'm interested in adding Desmond Bryant. He seems like a no-brainer type of fit and I think he might pair well with Mebane in the middle. Previously hand-picked by Tom Cable? Graduate of Harvard? Sure the DUI arrest isn't flattering, but I'm not one to get too worked up over a single DUI arrest unless there is significant property damage and/or an injury. Throw in John Abraham on a decent deal and we're set to go into the draft without any huge, glaring holes.

depending on where we stack up salary cap wise, i'd prefer to bring leon washington back for at least one more season. ever since watching walter thurmond take that helmet to the knee that ended his senior year at oregon, there's just something about star players returning kicks that makes me not want to set up our new $10 million man as a punching bag on special teams.

TTown wrote:depending on where we stack up salary cap wise, i'd prefer to bring leon washington back for at least one more season. ever since watching walter thurmond take that helmet to the knee that ended his senior year at oregon, there's just something about star players returning kicks that makes me not want to set up our new $10 million man as a punching bag on special teams.

While he's not my first choice, I'd be alright with Tate as a backup return man. If we just burned half our cap room and have to make a choice between adding a pass rush or keep Leon, I'm voting to allocate those resources towards the defense.

Yahoo is saying the new contract is 6 years/$67 mil.

I love the deal! RW3 needed another weapon to throw the ball to. Our WRs weren't that great last year yeah they made some huge plays. Most of that was because our options to run opened up our throwing game. The impact that Harvin makes at the scrimmage will open up even more plays for down the field passes to Rice,miller and Tate.

HOLY ****!

Seahawks agreed to terms with DE Cliff Avril on a multi-year contract.

That escalated quickly. Avril's market had been dead quiet to this point, but the Seahawks came out of nowhere to snap him up. Avril turns 27 in April. He has 29 sacks and nine forced fumbles over the last three seasons. Although some have attributed Avril's success to drawing single teams next to Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley, Lions GM Martin Mayhew thought enough of Avril's edge-rush ability to pay him over $10 million in 2012 as Detroit's franchise player. In Seattle, Avril will add to the Seahawks' pass rush along with Bruce Irvin as Chris Clemons tries coming back from a torn ACL. Avril will be an immediate candidate for 9-12 sacks.

http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/nfl/257950/seahawks-do-deal-with-top-pass-rusher-avril

That's a huge and completely unexpected signing. Do we keep Clemons? Are we going to have a three man DE rotation of Clemons/Irvin/Avril? Insane.

Great offseason by the Hawks not only getting Harvin but getting Avril on the cheap 2 for 15 mil. Gives this team 3 pass rushers when Clemons gets back from the ACL. Hawks looking for a Super Bowl this season with these moves.

cmavswin wrote:Great offseason by the Hawks not only getting Harvin but getting Avril on the cheap 2 for 15 mil. Gives this team 3 pass rushers when Clemons gets back from the ACL. Hawks looking for a Super Bowl this season with these moves.

Three pass rushers you say? PFFFT...

Seahawks agreed to terms with DE Michael Bennett, formerly of the Buccaneers, on a one-year, $5 million contract.

All the defensive ends. The Seahawks came out of nowhere and scooped up another talented pass rusher on the cheap in Bennett, just as they did on Wednesday with Cliff Avril. The market for defensive ends is clearly way out of whack, and is much worse than expected. Seattle can now trot out Bennett, Avril, and Bruce Irvin without skipping a beat while Chris Clemons recovers from his torn ACL. Bennett started his career with the Seahawks in 2009 before being cut the same season. He had nine sacks with the Bucs last year, and Seattle could use him at defensive tackle just as it did with Jason Jones in 2012. Veteran free agents John Abraham, Dwight Freeney, and Osi Umenyiora are going to have to settle for well-below-market deals, in all likelihood.

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/5530/michael-bennett

This is awesome. Easily the two best young edge rushers in free agency signing for the same kind of money I thought we might throw at John Abraham. I am sure the Seahawks will look to kick Bennett and/or Avril inside on stunts like they did with Jason Jones.

Do they add a big DT? Or do they kick Red Bryant inside on 3rd downs and mix Scruggs/Jaye Howard in more?

leon landed on his feet in new england, which i'm glad to see. i'll miss him.

i'm a pretty huge baseball fan, so i can usually live in the moment and satisfy myself over the spring/summer watching the mariners lose a million games. but damn, i'm stoked for september already. the west is going to be a bloodbath, ATL signed stephen jackson... the nfc as a whole is going to be so much fun.

TTown wrote:leon landed on his feet in new england, which i'm glad to see. i'll miss him.

I hope Obomanu sees a similar fate. He was a good--not great--player who worked his butt off year after year just to make the roster. I hope he lands with another team so he gets to continue his career.

It sucks seeing guys like Leon and Obo forced out, but such is the price of a march towards a Super Bowl.

TTown wrote:i'm a pretty huge baseball fan, so i can usually live in the moment and satisfy myself over the spring/summer watching the mariners lose a million games. but damn, i'm stoked for september already. the west is going to be a bloodbath, ATL signed stephen jackson... the nfc as a whole is going to be so much fun.

Same here. The advent of social media and the tweaks to NFL free agency have made the NFL a year round sport. I'm not willing to sit down and watch the combine [the results are interesting but there's nothing to show a correlation to being a success in the NFL] but I sure check my phone every couple minutes to see what FA moves we've made and what people think about them.

I've never had the level of excitement or expectation going into an NFL season that I have right now. And we haven't even had a draft yet! The draft has typically been something we rely on so heavily to progress into the next season, but this year if we drafted absolutely no one and went into the season with the roster as is I'd be confident of our playoff chances.

I'm stoked for the Hawks picking up Harvin and Avril. I don't think we will even see Clemons this season. It sucked losing him I think that's the reason why we lost to Atlanta because we could hurry up Ryan and he had time to throw.

But I'm stoked for this coming year going to be crazy!