The Seattle Seahawks may have declined their fifth-year option on offensive lineman Germain Ifedi, but that does not mean they don't want to keep him for the long haul.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll says that the team does want Ifedi back, but it simply did not want to pay him the $10.35 million that it would have cost them had they picked up his option for 2020.
“Well, there’s a lot of factors,” Carroll said, according to Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk and Sports Radio KJR. “We’re in the midst of trying to continue to fit the roster together and all that and the big demands, sometimes we can jump on it; sometimes we can’t. We love Germain. He’s grown with us. He’s become a solid football player and done a great job, started a ton of games for us and hanging in there and being tough about it. We’d love to have him. This is not an indication of anything. We like the guy and hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”
Ifedi, who played his collegiate football at Texas A&M University, was originally selected by Seattle in the first round (31st pick overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.
He proceeded to start 13 games at right guard for the Seahawks during his rookie campaign, and the following year, he moved to right tackle, where he started all 16 contests.
The Houston native then made 15 starts at right tackle this past season.
It is worth noting, however, that Ifedi has been flagged 33 times since entering the NFL, which ranks among the most in the league.
Follow Us
Subscribe