Updated Jun 13, 2012 - 1:54 pm
Why Clemons has plenty of leverage with Seahawks
NFL players have to consider the possibility of alienating their teammates when deciding whether or not to hold out for a new contract, right?
Not necessarily according to Danny O'Neil, who covers the Seahawks for The Seattle Times and joined "Brock and Salk" on Wednesday to discuss Chris Clemons' contract-related absence from the team's mandatory minicamp.
"The resentment comes when a guy gets a big contract over someone whose production has outweighed that guy's," O'Neil said before going back nearly a decade to illustrate the point. "Chike Okeafor is a great example. Okeafor was [the Seahawks'] best pass rusher, they signed Grant Wistrom for more money, Wistrom was not as good a player -- even once he got here -- as Okeafor, and Okeafor was bent out of shape because it was, 'You paid someone else more money and I was doing a better job at that spot.'
"I don't think there's anybody in a locker room that begrudges someone taking a stand and really trying to do what's best for them."
In Wednesday's Wrap Up video, Mike Salk has a few more reasons why Clemons' decision to hold out makes plenty of sense.
You can download Wednesday's podcast here.
Related: Brock Huard says Clemons is hurting himself and the Seahawks
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Brock Huard has co-hosted the show since 2009. After earning Gatorade Player of the Year honors at Puyallup High School, Brock went on to a record-setting career at Washington and then spent six years in the NFL, including four with the Seahawks. Brock has also spent five years with ESPN working as a college football analyst in the booth and the studio. Brock makes his home on the Eastside with his wife Molly and their three young children.
Danny O'Neil is the son of a logger, a graduate of the University of Washington and has been a working journalist in Seattle since 1999, first at newspapers and since 2012 at 710 ESPN Seattle. He is married to Sharon Pian Chan, associate opinions editor at The Seattle Times. They live on Capitol Hill with their wrinkled, smelly dog.
