Seattle Seahawks Strong Safety Kam Chancellor To The Baltimore Ravens?

Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor is looking for a new deal with three years left on his contract. Chancellor is currently holding out of training camp and may even hold out for the entire 2015 season. If that is the case, Chancellor is at the risk of losing a lot of money over the next several months as the Seahawks have shown no signs of giving him what he wants. Enter the Baltimore Ravens.

The Seahawks have contracts tied down with free safety Earl Thomas, cornerback Richard Sherman while also adding cornerback Cary Williams in the off-season. Not only that but the Seahawks have made contract extensions in the off-season with quarterback Russell Wilson, running back Marshawn Lynch, linebacker Bobby Wagner, and not to mention trading a first round pick for tight end Jimmy Graham from the New Orleans Saints. Where does this leave Chancellor?

Enter the Ravens.

The Ravens have a need for depth at the safety position and it has been that way ever since Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard left the organization after the Ravens Super Bowl run in 2012. The Ravens drafted safety Matt Elam with the 32nd overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft with the hopes of him solidifying a spot that the legend Reed held down for over a decade. Things haven't worked out with Elam as he has been inconsistent on the field and recently had a season-ending biceps injury in training camp.

The Ravens signed Kendrick Lewis, who has a had a solid off-season with the team to be the strong safety while Will Hill who has shown a lot of promise will hold down the free safety position. Elam's injury brings Chancellor into the fold. The Ravens are dangerously thin if Lewis were to go down with an injury. And the organization knows how valuable a healthy secondary can be as they learned the hard way in their AFC Divisional round playoff loss to the New England Patriots last season.

The Ravens have a little over 8 million dollars to spend in the salary cap for the 2015 season according to Brian McFarland of RussellStreetReport.com. A trade for Chancellor could be done.

There are two ways the Ravens can go about this: Save the 8 million and carry it over for the 2016 season or they can try to make a deal with the Seahawks and give Chancellor a contract extension.

A trade would be most likely the best way to go. NFL teams love their draft picks and no team loves them more than the Ravens. This is one of the rare situations where the Ravens have to strongly consider parting ways with them. Even if it may mean parting ways with a first or second round draft pick.

When healthy, no safety in the NFL can cover tight ends better than Chancellor. When dealing with the best tight end in the game such as Rob Gronkowski from the Patriots, it would give the Ravens an edge that no team in the AFC would have. And everyone knows how difficult it is to cover the elite tight ends in the game.

A trade for Chancellor would make the Ravens the team to beat in the AFC and they were already one of the favorites to make the Super Bowl in the entire NFL to start the season.