The Seattle Seahawks are in an interesting position heading into the 2017 season. They are clear favorites to win the NFC West, and they still have a lot of the talented players that have turned them into one of the better teams in the NFL. However, since winning Super Bowl 48, they’ve struggled to get all the way back to the top, and the team could be nearing the end of its current window of opportunity.
The on-field struggles could be impacted by some locker room issues. On Thursday, ESPN’s Seth Wickersham put together a detailed feature on conflict primarily between cornerback Richard Sherman and quarterback Russell Wilson. It is loaded with anonymous quotations, and Sherman and Michael Bennett have both called BS on it since it first published.
However, Wickersham has proven to be a very solid reporter. If you recognize his name, but are not sure why, it’s because he had a big feature back in October 2014 about how Jim Harbaugh thrived in chaos. It was one of many big articles that followed the path to Harbaugh’s eventual departure.
Nobody is putting their name next to these quotations, but even if we don’t have the specific quotations, a lot of this isn’t surprising. Sherman is reportedly frustrated by the offense’s inconsistency, but he is also not pleased with a perceived double standard in how Russell Wilson is treated. There is chatter about Wilson’s robotic-like nature, and how that turns some players off. These are all things that have not really come out of the Seahawks locker room before, but are not entirely surprising.
Carroll has developed an intriguing dynamic in Seattle. He seems to try and not stifle personalities. It has worked thus far, but if the team struggles, it will be interesting to see how this all shakes out. The issues are part of why Richard Sherman was interested in potentially getting traded. Nothing came of it, and everybody is trying to play nice, but it is going to be interesting to see what else comes out of the Seahawks facility if there are any on-field struggles this season.