I'm surprised we are still talking about Kam ....it's clear that he's not 100% healthy.....just consider him Jason Pierre Paul 2.0....
Now it's not a fireworks accident with Kam, but JPP didn't report to the Giants until this weekend, after holding the Giants off for 2 months....he's now placed the team in a place where they need to make a quick and somewhat uninformed decision on whether to play him or not....they haven't seen JPP's hand to know what range of motion or strength he has and they desperately need to play him vs. Dallas, even at 65%, he's better than what they have.
Fast forward to Kam.....he HAS to pass a physical examination of his entire body (knee specifically), when he reports.....he doesn't have to pass or have any physical examinations sitting at home in VA.
The difference, if any with Marshawn was he eventually reported once the team started moving on his added year to his contract and raise, which he actually deserved. Lynch reported, passed him physical and didn't sit in Oakland, waiting for someone to guess on his healthy status.....ate some skittles and showed up ready to work.
Kam is different, he needed to heal up and gets as close to 100% as possible, while giving the team little chance to evaluate him vs playing him. If he reported today, he'd potentially play at worse vs Green Bay, despite not getting another dollar....there's an outside chance he'd play Sunday in St. Louis.
IF you traded Kam for a pick or player or combo of whatever his value is, he has to then immediately report and pass that team's physical....if he flunks the physical, the deal is then cancelled and then Kam's value goes from whatever little leverage he has to ZERO. He would be then recorded as a damaged player.
If he reports, the Seahawks are not going to publically disgrace him by placing him on the PUP list, they will play him and let the player earn his money. The question is what type of performance will he provide to determine whether he can hold up beyond this year. If he's not healthy and is the Kam with turf toe of a couple of years ago, he's not worth the 4.55M he's earning this year. Kam knows that and Seattle's Front office and Pete knows that as well.
The discussion is this and nothing else. Kam is clearly not 100%....if he was, performed and passed his physical, the front office can then evaluate and determine that he's not getting another guaranteed dollar, because he may (I stress MAY), be physically breaking down or not the same player we are used to. If Seattle evaluates his knee in late July 2015 and determines he may be best suited for sitting out, then he would be placing himself under the microscope of not this year, but what additional money can Kam capture beyond this year.
Kam is fighting for his earnings beyond this year. I think he believes that as much time off, extends his career. He played extremely hard, while anyone else would and perhaps should have shut it down, after tearing his ligament in the Friday before the Super Bowl. He may believe he earned additional money, playing at clearly less than 70%.
If Kam can get healthy this year and sacrifices 4 to 6 game checks and buys himself time through September, he's then healthier for the stretch run, where he is really needed. Playing 19 games at the pace he plays, is difficult and takes a toll physically. If he can reduce that to 9 to 10 games plus playoffs, perhaps he extends his playing career by another couple of years, whether here or elsewhere.
But to state he is selfish, just isn't true....he's playing it smart....it's his career and money at stake and realistically, he is of no use to Seattle if he's not healthy in December and January, not September or October. Let him sit and avoid being placed on the PUP list by reporting in July.....
