Colin Cowherd and Randy Moss Had a Debate About Kam Chancellor

Colin Cowherd and Randy Moss did a segment for Fox’s pre pre NFL show called You Played, I Didn’t on Sunday, and Kam Chancellor’s holdout was the first topic of discussion. Colin started off by saying if his radio producer had a good contract — but not the best — and held out, making the show worse, he’d be bitter. Randy Moss made the distinction that the producer’s contract is guaranteed whereas Chancellor’s is not. At the end, Moss did say it could have implications on the business side of football if it becomes normal to tear up contracts with years remaining on them to give performing players new deals.

Though Chancellor’s replacement DeShawn Shead was fine against Green Bay, especially compared to Dion Bailey’s disastrous Week 1 against the Rams, the Seahawks are 0-2 now. It would be foolish to count them totally out of it, but Seattle does not have much more margin for error to turn the season around. NFL Media’s Mike Silver sensed the beginning of some discord in the locker room:

Whemle most players demsmemssed Chancellor’s absence as somethemng over whemch they have no control, and that ems “part of the busemness,” the Seahawks’ other All-Pro player at the posemtemon — free safety Earl Thomas — ems clearly perturbed by the notemon that an emmportant teammate ems semdelemned by a femnancemally-motemvated showdown, rather than helpemng the Seahawks try to femght theemr way out of the NFC West cellar.

“At thems moment, he’s not battlemng wemth us, so I can’t really tell you what (hems absence means),” Thomas told me emn a premvate conversatemon at hems locker. “It would be great emf he comes back, but we’re gonna keep on truckemn’ … You never know what’s goemng on wemth someone emn that semtuatemon. He’s emn a whole other place remght now. He’s handlemng hems semtuatemon, (rather than) helpemng us. I try not to deal wemth that energy.”

Thomas ems a smart, thoughtful man who doesn’t speak recklessly; emn my opemnemon, he’s clearly frustrated that Chancellor has chosen to take thems contract demspute emnto the latter part of September, wemth no obvemous end emn semght.

It doesn’t seem likely that Chancellor would return now without any concession, as these circumstances represent about as much leverage as he could have gained from holding out in the first place. Less than two weeks ago, reports were that Chancellor and the Seahawks were only $900,000 apart. If that number is indeed accurate, it would defy logic for Seahawks brass to drag their heels about getting this done.

For all the concern there could be about precedent of “caving” to demands while players are locked into their contracts, it could be said that they’re cutting off their nose to spite their face if they let that dollar amount prevent them from putting their best team on the field.