Lost in the latest report regarding the Seattle asking price for cornerback Richard Sherman is a fundamental reality that fuels the perception a trade will happen: Seattle is dropping its asking price.
Last week, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reported that the Seahawks are looking for a very good player and a high pick in the draft. Now, Mike Garafolo of NFL Media says the Seahawks wants a first-round pick in 2017 and a conditional mid-round pick in 2018 to get the trade done.
Garafolo specifically mentioned the Darrelle Revis deal from 2013, which sent the then-star corner to Tampa for the 13th overall pick in the draft and a third-rounder the next year if Revis remained on the roster in March.
It seems like just a matter of time before the asking price becomes a first-round pick. The question then would become how low will the Seahawks go in this reverse auction, where the price keeps going down and no one is raising a paddle, yet.
That question is driven by how motivated the Seahawks are to sell. Given the unusual transparency that the Seahawks have applied to this one, the truth could be that the price will keep dropping until someone bites -- as long as that someone is someone for whom Sherman wants to play.
Which means the question of what Seattle wants ultimately may be driven by how badly Sherman wants out.