Seattle Seahawks NFL Trade Rumors: Seahawks Bringing in Jared Cook for a Visit
One of the best tight ends available on the free agent market is reportedly coming to town to pay the Seattle Seahawks a visit.
NFL.com's Ian Rapoport has reported that the Seahawks are planning to bring in former Green Bay Packers tight end Jared Cook for a free agent visit. He probably won't return to the Packers after they signed Martellus Bennett, so he's an intriguing option for the Seahawks.
The team's interest in Cook actually makes a lot of sense. With Luke Willson and Brandon Williams exploring free agency this offseason, Jimmy Graham and Nick Vannett are the only tight ends left on the roster. Graham is entering the final year of his contract and he's due $10 million and some observers will probably speculate that the Seahawks may be bringing Cook in to take over Graham's role.
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Well, the team just gave Graham his two-million dollars roster bonus last week, so it would be strange if they cut him right now to create cap space to sign more free agents. But anything could happen.
"Teams generally don't move on from players after paying them bonuses, and, for what it's worth, general manager John Schneider said recently there's no reason to believe Graham is going anywhere this season," Brady Henderson of 710 ESPN Seattle stated in his report.
Of course, the Seahawks do not really have to get rid of Graham if they sign Cook. They can always use two tight end formation like what the New England Patriots did last season. That's a nice option for the team.
"After the New England Patriots had success utilizing both Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett — before Gronk's season-ending injury — the Seahawks may envision something similar with Cook and Graham," Bleacher Report's Joseph Zucker said in his piece.
The Seahawks probably are not thinking of signing Cook to replace Graham. But he is going to an insurance in case Graham leaves after the season.
