I'd agree if the chatter was coming from "anonymous sources". But John Schneider and Pete Carroll have openly admitted to discussing a trade with multiple teams. Why would they do that if for no other reason to send a subtle message to a player? It makes no sense to single out one guy like that just for the hell of it.
Send a subtle message to a guy who they know has about .0001% chance of actually changing a thing about the way he approaches his career?
The thing is, this
was coming from anonymous sources. It's been out there for a while. Today's news is just Seattle confirming it. This is them saying "Yeah, we look at potential moves for guys all the time, even high profile guys. Nothing usually comes of it, though." Could be that they're getting it out there in public to assure one of their most vocal players that they're not going behind his back on anything, because they know he'd squawk if they were, and I guarantee they don't want that. That's just as likely as them sending a subtle message, like you're intimating.
Think about it. If they wanted to send a message to Sherman, doing it publicly is the absolute worst way to do it. He's all ego. You "cross" him in public, he's going to respond, and blow things up. That's the last thing they want. A vocal, publicly slighted Sherman doesn't improve his trade value. If they wanted to send him a message about him being critical of Carroll, they sure as heck wouldn't do it in public.
I think this is about assessing value. Nothing more. Sherman's right at the age for a corner, where teams have to start looking toward diminishing returns. He's got several good years left in him, but with the way his contract lines up, you might want to test the waters and see what you can get out of him. If you can get a massive haul for him now, you think about it.
I don't think it goes much beyond that at all.
