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The Seattle Seahawks were happy to receive safety Kam Chancellor back into the fold, but a new deal wasn’t the reason for his return.
Albert Breer of NFL Network reports, via two sources, that Chancellor did not receive any new compensation for returning to the Seahawks after missing the first two games of the season.
Whether or not the Seahawks reward Chancellor with more money now that he’s returned is another story, but at this point it sure seems like his holdout ended up as a pointless act of defiance. It’s not yet known if the Seahawks will waive the $267,647 he owes per game because of the holdout. He’s currently in the third year of a five-year deal and is set to earn $4 million this season if the team chooses not to waive his first two game checks.
When he made the decision to return, the Pro-Bowl safety said he had to “follow his heart.” Ultimately he decided to come back and help his teammates, who struggled mightily without him.
“I’ve always been a guy who follows my heart, and just watching my teammates and my team play week to week, first, second game, watching those losses, it hurt me being the leader that I am,” Chancellor said after watching the Seahawks open the season with losses to St. Louis and Green Bay, via ESPN.com.
“It was very hard because, not taking away from anybody else, but I knew I could make a difference.”
Chancellor picked an ideal time to come back, because the Chicago Bears are coming into Seattle to face the Seahawks on Sunday. Jay Cutler is out with a hamstring injury, meaning the “Legion of Boom” will likely feast on the offerings of Jimmy Clausen, who struggled mightily at home against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 when Cutler left the game.
The Seahawks are 0-2 right now. After Sunday they should be 1-2, and thanks to Chancellor’s return they have a much better chance of making a turnaround after two miserable outings on the road to open the season.