Byron Maxwell

Seattle led more than it trailed in 2013, and often they led big. Game situations often dictated that opponents abandon the run. Consider that despite these conditions, Richard Sherman was still the least targeted corner in the game.

Meaning, Seattle's other corners were likely targeted a ton and carry a huge amount of importance to our defense, especially since they often cover #1 WRs.

If Maxwell posts 8 interceptions and a low QB rating against next season, yet is limited to a "middle class" level free agent deal on the open market (say $7 million per) due to a lack of resume and scheme concerns, would you want Seattle to budget for him or would you want to see CB #2 be a turnstile given Pete's success?

Definitely want to keep Maxwell as long as we can afford to do so. Simon is going to be a beast too so we might see Maxwell walk for that reason.

I realize CBs are hard to come by but I am more confident in this coaching staff to develop DBs than pass rushers at this point. Would rather spend $7MM on a pass rusher than a CB.

We need to spend elsewhere. I like Maxwell but its somewhat of an embaresment of riches back there. The pass rush needs to be maintained and with Avril becoming a FA it needs to be adresses one way or another. Plus Russ. Its an area we can continue to develop.

Would like very much to keep Maxwells services however, can not afford to pay everyone. Hopefully Simon and others will keep the machine going. If only there was no cap involved. Maxwell is a keeper.

I'll looking forward to seeing what Simon has personally. If Simon has Pete's trust I don't mind letting max go. If pete does not see a replacement he should be kept. Personally I think best case is if Simon steps up and we save a lot of cap with the rookie salary scale.

It's a tricky question I've thought about before. I can't tell if either option is clearly better. It would be fun (and valuable) to have an entire secondary locked down and living up to its famous name. However, leaving a spot open gives us a greater variety of positions to slot rookie contracts each year, so is more flexible for roster building. Churning rookie contracts effectively will of course be essential to Winning Forever Young.

With the coaching staffs history with CBs I wouldn't want to pay him at 7m per. Thats a lot of money when we have more important players to pay such as Cliff Avril, KJ Wright, and Bobby Wagner (possible extension?). Now, if he wants to come back on a Baldwin type deal (4m per), I could get behind that, but thats unlikely...he will get paid.

We are stuck in this old school thinking of free agency and pulgging and playing that has been going on for years in the NFL. The fact of the matter is that Seattles coaching staff is revolutionizing the way teams are built and maintained. In the college games its all about recruiting and developing raw talent. This is the approach that Pete and Co. are taking from here on out. While its nice to solidify your elite talent and keep them happy, everyone else is expendable to a certain degree. Maxwell is good, he may be great, but we already have Sherm, E and Kam back there. Locking up Wilson is the the priority and should remain center focus.

Its a two edged sword with this team. You either have Maxwell underperform which will make him affordable or you want him to be great which will price us out of his services. Which one do you choose?

Personally, Ill take Maxwell playing lights and commanding a huge career deal elsewhere over having him fail here.

This is what we all wanted, just enjoy the ride and be content with this team and its characteristics.. We will lose some of our favorite players, but they wont be elite (Tate, Clem, Red etc..) players. I love our young guys and think they have insanely high ceilings.. Guys like Mayowa, Simon, Britt and are going to blow up.

Nah...just get that 4th round comp pick and call it good.

If they are going to spend 7-8 per year on Maxwell, I rather that money go towards Avril getting signed long-term who I could see signing a deal similar to Michael Bennett's but around 8m-9m per.

I wonder what the responses would be if you framed this question as a Maxwell vs. Avril or Maxwell vs. Wagner type thing, because that's ultimately what it would come down to.

Maxwell has shown an incredible knack for making big plays and being physical, but, with Sherman being good enough to play island at LCB and ETIII therefore having more freedom to shade the RCB, I don't know if that's a position you want to dump significant money in. A guy with lesser skill can still shine in that position given the surrounding circumstances.

way too many unknown variables at this point to know what the true cost of keeping/letting him go would be.

Pandion Haliaetus":32czmpip said:

Nah...just get that 4th round comp pick and call it good.

If they are going to spend 7-8 per year on Maxwell, I rather that money go towards Avril getting signed long-term who I could see signing a deal similar to Michael Bennett's but around 8m-9m per.

Click to expand...

That was easy.

I don't know that the term "turnstile" in the OP is the best way to describe it. I think of most team members as being on a 4 year cycle. The guys they keep for a second tour must also possess special leadership and teaching skills in addition to their functional role. In that regard, this team is are already in exceptionally good shape with its defensive backfield.

That actually is a great question, but I think it all matters on how the depth at that position devolopes or doesn't, then you go from there.

Could keep Wagner and/or Wright with that money.

Pandion Haliaetus":2rbwaa87 said:

Nah...just get that 4th round comp pick and call it good.

If they are going to spend 7-8 per year on Maxwell, I rather that money go towards Avril getting signed long-term who I could see signing a deal similar to Michael Bennett's but around 8m-9m per.

Click to expand...

Agree 100%

I wish Simon was healthy last season. I'd love to see him at corner while Maxwell Beasts in the slot, but Simon didn't get any game experience in rehab. Lane is too light in the ass for run defense.

I personally don't think they can afford to keep Maxwell, Wagner, Avril or Wright, so I think the point is kind of moot. There probably isn't a 4-3 LB in the league I would pay big money to. Decent, cheap 4-3 LB replacements are wayyyy to easy to find. So in that conversation, I think it would come down to Avril/Maxwell. Of the two, I pay Maxwell at the moment. We haven't seen Avril do anything other than spot duty, and at the very least we could fill in for him with Irvin in a pinch. I would feel more comfortable with that than I would penciling in Simon or Lane at the moment. Could very well change this season.

I think the best chance to keep Maxwell would have been to lock him up right about now. Probably not possible. I like Maxwell a lot, and I think his value over player X may potentially be cavernous, but I just don't think we can afford to pay another one. Have to trust that Carroll and Schneider are going to be able to find/groom a replacement.

Who invented this idea that Lane is too small to play Nickel CB that I've seen going around this forum recently? He's the same size as Thurmond and your nickel is almost always a smaller/quicker DB. Maxwell/Simon are likely too stiff to cover slot on a consistent basis.