By Alex Iniguez
The Seattle Times
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll had said for months the team would not let defensive end Frank Clark, whose initial four-year rookie contract ran out after last season, get away.
And the team made sure of that —for at least the 2019 season, anyway —by placing the franchise tag on him Monday afternoon.
The Seahawks have been talking to Clark and his representatives for months and have been hoping to get a long-term deal done with the defensive end, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 13. But with those talks proving fruitless for now, the Seahawks will use their tag on Clark to assure he stays with the team in 2019.
Getting the tag means Clark will get a one-year contract at $17.128 million that is fully guaranteed but also counts fully against the team’s 2019 salary cap. The deadline to use a tag for the 2019 season was Tuesday. The tag represents a big raise for Clark, who made $943,941 last season in the final year of a rookie contract that paid him $3.73 million overall. Still, Clark is hoping eventually for a bigger payday and more long-term security.
Seattle had not used a franchise tag since 2010 on kicker Olindo Mare, but both Carroll and general manager John Schneider said at the NFL combine last week the team would use it if needed to keep the Seahawks’ best pass rusher in the fold for 2019.
“Frankie will be with us, yeah,” Carroll said last Thursday when asked about Clark’s status for 2019.
But Carroll said then the hope would be that a long-term deal would get done and the Seahawks are expected to continue to pursue a long-term contact with Clark, who has missed just one game in four years and last season led the team with 13 sacks.
“It is ultimately (the goal), yeah,” Carroll said. “Frankie just turned 25, he’s still a very young football player. Made a huge step this year in terms of leadership, growth and maturity. It was so obvious. I was really proud of seeing that develop for Frank. He played great too. Frank, he’s a very valuable football player and that’s the process we’re in the middle of and all that, I can’t tell you guys how that’s going to turn out but it’s going to be positive for the Seahawks and for Frank.”
But with a number of defensive ends potentially set to become free agents and also getting the franchise tag —including Kansas City’s Dee Ford, Houston’s Jadeveon Clowney and Dallas’ Demarcus Lawrence —finding the right price for Clark was difficult for each side at the moment.
Teams can continue to negotiate with franchise tagged players until July 15. After that date, then teams cannot negotiate again with tagged players until after the season.
