It seems Seattle Seahawks players are getting fed up with Kam Chancellor's holdout
According to NFL.com's Mike Silver, Chancellor's holdout has now cost him over $2.1 million, which is, well, a lot more than the reported $900,000 he and the Seahawks are disagreeing over.
And with no end in sight and the Seahawks now 0-2 and missing Chancellor's defense, it seems his holdout is starting to wear on Seahawks players.
After the Seahawks' 27-17 loss to the Packers on Sunday, Seahawks safety Earl Thomas had perhaps the strongest words on the issue yet, with Silver describing Thomas as "clearly perturbed" by the holdout:
"At this moment, he's not battling with us, so I can't really tell you what [his absence means]. It would be great if he comes back, but we're gonna keep on truckin' ... You never know what's going on with someone in that situation. He's in a whole other place right now. He's handling his situation, [rather than] helping us. I try not to deal with that energy."
Again, Thomas' words were the strongest on the subject thus far, but support seems to be dying, compared to two weeks ago when Marshawn Lynch wore Chancellor's jersey to practice.
Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril told Silver:
"Do we miss Kam? We'd love to have Kam back. His presence, by itself, it puts a lot of fear in the receivers, and even the running backs. So of course we miss him. But the game has to go on without him."
Michael Bennett also considered holding out, but decided against it, telling reporters, "My situation is different than his. I've got three kids. I've got a wife. My wife wouldn't let me hold out, so I had to come to work."
Again, not a glowing endorsement for Chancellor (or showing up for the team, for that matter).
The problem for Chancellor - and probably what's keeping him from getting an extension and/or widespread support - is that he signed an extension in 2013. The Seahawks have set a precedent of giving players contract extensions when they're due for them. If not, they usually let the players go, and given their success in the draft, find young, talented replacements for them.
Chancellor signed a $28 million extension, and the Seahawks have already capped themselves out by rewarding other players. Seattle hardly has room to give Chancellor more, nor do they want to break this precedent and invite more players to hold out in the future.
Right now, nobody has really spoken out against Chancellor, but if the Seahawks continue to struggle, there's a chance that players could become more vocal and more agitated about Chancellor's holdout.