Antoine Winfield contacted by Seattle Seahawks
Antoine Winfield (26) against the Arizona Cardinals at the Metrodome. Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
The Seattle Seahawks have a short-term hole at the cornerback position due to a groin injury to Brandon Browner and a four-game suspension for marijuana that was levied to his replacement as the team’s No. 2 corner in Walter Thurmond. Both players are two of the league’s better corners, but both should be back for the Seahawks by the time the playoffs roll around, especially since the Seahawks will have a bye.
But that likelihood and the fact that the Seahawks have excellent depth at corner with Jeremy Lane and Byron Maxwell waiting in the wings hasn’t stopped the ‘Hawks from contacting an old friend. According to FOX Sports’s Mike Garafolo, the Seahawks have contacted veteran corner Antoine Winfield, who has been “retired” since being released by the Seahawks. They released Winfield during the 53-man roster crunchdown, but it wasn’t due to a decline in ability from Winfield. No, the Seahawks cut ties with the 36-year-old nickel corner because of cost. Paying Winfield out would have been expensive, and the Seahawks didn’t believe it was worth it due to Thurmond’s ability.
The fact that the Seahawks are contacting Antoine Winfield shows that they are very serious about two huge, upcoming games against the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks are still better than both squads despite their injuries at corner, but going up against Drew Brees and the Saints elite offense with a thin situation at corner is on the dicey side.
Although Winfield is retired and has reportedly rejected overtures and workouts from “several teams”, he isn’t ready to walk away from the game yet. He still wants to win an elusive Super Bowl ring, and the Seahawks look like the best team in the league right now. It’s a great opportunity for Winfield to win a ring, but it is unclear as to how much interest he has in the Seahawks or how much interest the Seahawks have in him. I mean, contacting is a lot different from signing, especially since we don’t know the level of interest that the Seahawks have in Winfield. But I think it’s safe to say that this is a situation worth monitoring closely, because Winfield should have plenty of interest in re-joining the Seahawks, even if they did release him in August.