The Seahawks can become the first team in more than two decades to make it to three straight Super Bowls, but keeping the team that won the NFC for the second straight year together won’t be easy.
One of the players they have the best chance of losing is cornerback Byron Maxwell, who can become a free agent next month. Maxwell moved into the starting lineup full-time after Brandon Browner’s departure and had 39 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble in 13 regular season games.
General Manager John Schneider said Wednesday that the team will work to keep Maxwell in the fold, but admitted that he expects a robust market for a player at or near the top of the list of free agent corners this year could lead to his departure.
“Based on what the landscape looks like from our eyes, he would be very highly sought after,” Schneider said on 950 KJR, via the Seattle Times. “Now, are we going to give it a good ride and try to do what we feel is appropriate for our organization and try to keep him? Absolutely. Is it going to be good enough? I can’t answer that. I really don’t know … Where his market goes, I think should be extremely high. Whether or not we’ll be able to keep him, I’m not sure. But we’re going to do whatever we can to try to do that.”
At 26, Maxwell is younger than fellow impending free agents Antonio Cromartie, Tramon Williams and Brandon Flowers and that’s likely fueling Schneider’s feelings about how high his eventual price tag will be. With extension talks for Russell Wilson and a possible extension for Marshawn Lynch looming on top of other business in Seattle, it doesn’t sound like it will be too big a surprise if that puts a Seattle return out of reach.
