NEWS: Connor Williams Agent Says He Will Sign In Next 48-72 Hours

Intro hello everybody Welcome to a breaking news not quite emergency pod edition of Hawk blogger mornings I am Brian neuser here today with Jeff Simmons real Jeff Simmons on Twitter make sure you give him a follow if you have not already and there's news Mr Jeff there is news um coming out of Miami Drew rosenhouse says that Connor Williams is Connor Williams Visits Ravens in contract negotiations with the Seahawks and that he expects the team that he expects Williams to sign a deal within the next 48 to 72 hours um we also just got news as of half an hour ago Adam schfer tweeted that free agent offensive lineman Conor Williams visited the Ravens today this is the first time we are hearing of him visiting someone else don't like it he is said to be considering both the Ravens and the Seahawks proposals right now and should quote make a decision soon how do you feel about this news Jeff it makes me uneasy for sure um the Ravens are not a team I would love negotiating against if you're an outside player player who I don't know if they know the ins and outs and you have a Super Bowl Contender and the Seahawks it makes me a little uneasy that the Ravens are in there once I calm down a little bit and obviously with offensive linemen I'm not I'm trying not to get excited for the Seahawks they always disappoint on that front I'm wondering a couple things the fact that shefer is doing it this way makes me think that they're negotiating publicly to get SE to pay more money and it's timing of it is really interesting we've already saw Ro we've already talked about Rosen House's sound yesterday we talked about it when me and you were on for or two days ago when we were on our Saturday show Brady Henderson said that it was not the injury it was money that was the holdup so the fact that it's been negotiated very publicly through shefer which is shef's go-to is usually the agents it makes me think that they're just saying Seattle we want more money or else and now from Rosen House's perspective he played this great because my initial thought was okay Baltimore's got all pro Center Tyler Linder bomb he really broke out last year he be had the one of the best seers of any other one on their offensive line why would a guy who played so well at Center have to go and play learn how to play left guard again he did play left guard in Dallas a lot of the time however when I was looking this up lonard bomb has been banged up in Camp in Baltimore they've been having to move guards around and they've been a little uneasy so the whole thing is still possible where they may want to use him at Center if lard bombs hurt a bit and then shift him over to guard later but Williams really did have a breakout season moving to Miami last year so if he wants to play center and that's really important to him then I think Seattle is the destination and they're just using Baltimore to get more money out of them so that's kind of where my head is spinning right now I'm worried about anytime it's like someone versus Baltimore that makes me nervous but at the end of the day if he really wants to play center and that's what's important to really get the value back up Seattle is absolutely the place to go because I don't know if you heard Mike McDonald on with Brock and Sal today did not sound like he's thrilled about the interior offensive lineman so far he's saying he wants one of these guys to really take this position by the horns I know Corbin Smith has been saying he gets the impression from his source that this is going to be a done deal from Seattle but if he really does want to play center I think he's just negotiating publicly with the Seahawks yeah I I think that that is the typical excellent um analysis from Jeff Simmons that's why you are uh the best in the biz at this stuff and I I you know I didn't love seeing the Ravens piece for the same reasons if you're a player who's Connor Williams Visits Seahawks prioritizing winning a ring then there's no doubt the Ravens are a better place to go if you're wanting to win a ring if for whatever reason he's an East Coast guy you you know he did play for the Dolphins last year maybe he wants to stay on the East Coast that's also something but he visited the Seahawks first and I can't imagine that coming to Seattle when he came here was a bad visit it's been gorgeous every day other than when the national media was here but that was not the day Conor Williams was here it sounded like things were going well we heard at that point that they were already in negotiations with the Seahawks so there's a lot of reasons to think this is a little bit of gamesmanship I then look a little closer Jeff um the Ravens have 5.4 million in cap space right now yeah so they have half the cap space the Seahawks do we've talked about oh well maybe the Seahawks uh need more cap room um you know with practice squad and injuries and all this stuff I mean the Ravens have half the cap space so they'd have to free up some space in order to make this work so more more than likely they'd be talking about less money to play a position that I could not find the The Source but I I I'm pretty sure I saw this earlier that Conor Williams wants to play center he prefers to play center and if that's the case to your point the Seahawks are the ones offering that um the other team that that I want to throw into the mix here and I'm going to play the rosenhouse sound for you and everyone else to listen to so you can hear exactly what rosenhouse said um earlier today but before I do that the other team that has been at least part of the conversation not from rosenhouse but just as rumor has been the the San Francisco 49ers and the 49ers have a ton of cap space this year um because of a lot of things that they've done they have no cap space next year but if they're a team that's interested they have the potential to be someone that could throw some money his Direction and their offensive lines have been a disaster um so I don't think that's out of the realm of possibilities Center's certainly a position that they could use an upgrade at they could basically use an upgrade at every position that's not left tackle and I have this like absolute conspiracy theory like just trying to cover all the bases concern there's been increased rumors that Brandon iuk is going to be traded which I'm all for let's be very clear but if he gets traded does that increase the odds is the timing of this at all coincidental that they could then feel like there's money that they could have freed up that they would have otherwise had to spend um that they could throw some money into this at the last minute feels like probably not but I just wanted to throw that out there as something else that's running through my crazy brain it's probably a reach it's probably a reach they need to get this auk thing resolved it's slow going down there tired camp but other thing the Trent Williams thing is they have to pay him money and he want he's legitimately holding out he wants more money so I don't think there's room to probably add in on another free agent contract unless they got him to take like a cheap one-year deal play for a contender but I think that'd be a pretty big stretch right now they a lot of their focus is resolving the auk thing and until that thing gets resolved they can't really make a move on Williams because they don't really know their budget situation so it's been holding up their whole camp so a lot of dominoes would have to fall into effect for that to work and just I get the sense just even how like hearing how the Jordan Brooks negotiation worked out with Seattle and learning more about that I don't get the sense that San Francisco is goingon to be able to pull that off with all these balls hanging in their court and if all of a sudden TR Williams signs tonight and a gets traded I would certainly get a little nervous yeah but I think priority one and two are just huge on their plate right now they can't function without TR Williams and they that's not resolved until the seuk thing gets resolved and Conor Williams to them has to be a pretty Li priority relative to Seattle and Baltimore who does have injury issues and they lost both their guards in free agency it's hard to see San Francisco getting it there yeah let's let's save some time at the end to talk about some of the iuk rumors um I think they're less credible but but let's uh let's look touch on those I know it's your favorite topic um before we finish but there's a couple uh super chats I want to get to one one of your Canadian Brethren Danny McCormack uh who's a YouTube member as well welcome Danny he says uh Conor Williams wants to play center we he won't do that in Baltimore I think that's right like as you said about Linder bomb I mean they did lose their starting guards John Simpson and um Kevin zeitler and the guys that they have slated you know Andrew Vorhees who is basically shirt rookie last year didn't play after injury and Daniel F if I'm pronouncing that right it's a pretty questionable guard group um so I can see why they would want to bring in a a pro bowl level guard but I just I have some questions about fit uh in terms of what Conor Williams wants to do and um about the money that that they could offer um we have one more Super Chat here from smok Hawk uh also a YouTube member Drew needed leverage Drew rosenhouse needed leverage Seattle is the first option I I think that's right I think that since the beginning Jeff the first tweet shter sent out a week or two ago was you know in negotiation with the Seahawks other teams you know will be in the mix you know he's been kind of using this tactic from the outset and so I think that that makes sense to me um let me play the sound for you uh in case you and others haven't heard it this is Drew rosenhouse um on the Joe Rose show uh in Miami uh earlier today talking about Conor Williams and here you Drew Rosenhaus on Connor Williams go to great players you're you're right so I got to ask you Connor Williams flipping over here I thought a deal was going to get done I know we caught you in Seattle and I was like oh boy they is is Conor is he healthy and is he close to signing with somebody yeah yeah he is healthy he absolutely is he's he's in negotiations with the Seahawks and uh there's a few other teams and uh I wouldn't be surprised if Conor signs within the next 48 to 72 hours it's it's uh it's a it's a wonderful development for Connor who had a heartbreaking injury yeah in the Titans Monday night game he was on his way to a pro bowl season and a lucrative contract extension towards ACL and this guy fought so hard we weren't even sure if he was going to play this year and now he's going to be ready to play in the first game of the season it's probably in my career without a doubt one of the greatest comebacks I've ever seen yeah man I I think we all felt bad when he got hurt because you're right he saw that money going out but he worked his butt off and get right back in League he's still a young guy so the one that really got me so that was the sound about Connor Williams uh what do you think about that from Drew rosenhouse Jeff I understand why people hire Drew Rosen has he's amazing at his job um it's the same thing I was saying before the whole thing kind of has felt since the beginning that he's kind of trying to up the Seattle offer and trying to use any tactic he get and it was very telling that Brady Henderson came out on Saturday and tweeted that that was the issue and from an agent standpoint he's doing exactly what he needs to do to drum up more money to use other teams as leverage to make the Seahawks sweat it out and I think exactly if you're looking at the depth charts in the NFL right now and you're like where's there needed Center and you're Drew Rosen house and you see ol Ola timi and Nick Harris the Seahawks got to be the big Target on the year so he's doing everything he can to try to yank the chains of the Seahawks and the Baltimore thing has kind of fell right into his lap with some injuries there so he's doing a great job just kind of creating a market for his client but the way he used the words and the way he's kind of said this is going to be done quickly it kind of felt like Seattle pay me more money or you could lose this guy yeah yeah I mean if if the Raven I mean he was announced that he made the Ravens visit so he did go there I wonder why it took so long between the Seahawks visit and the raven visit um normally once a guy goes on one visit it's like a chain of events you go on the next visit and the next visit until you you finally sign it's been like two weeks almost since he visited the Seahawks um so I don't know maybe maybe rosenhouse was busy with the Tyreek Hill deal um that he was working on maybe it was something else but it does it does feel like the Seahawks have this as an option and I'll tell you what Jeff well actually let me ask you let me ask you do you want the Seahawks just pay him what they need to like to to secure this guy is he that kind of player to you or are they in that kind of situation where this is a guy you just wanted to pay him yeah yeah I am it's not the most like logical headsmart approach to it but yeah I'm there um I was really hoping ol with Timmy would be like okay take a step forward this year he's been in the system they know him from Michigan it seems like he kind of projects and just you the hearing your practice reports and then hearing McDonald on with Brock and so today where it's just like and then I saw someone else I think it was Bob kada saying that like or I think it was Brady actually that Nick Harris is kind of closing the Gap I said from before if Nick Harris wins the center job this is a bad off season and at Center and listen we've been clamoring about the center position for years we I don't want to talk about the 2021 draft um last year and watching hardnox there was a scene in hardnox where Sequon barly is talking to some of the the Giants Scouts and they're talking about how they think John Michael Schmid is gonna take a huge jump this year and the Seahawks drafted Zack shanet who's a backup running back I think that was still I like shanet I think that was a mistake not to take Schmitz there they've been chasing this position for a long time Ola Timmy to me fifth round pick seems like a pretty good backup set like he'd be a pretty steady backup center you can come in he's not going to screw you over but I want to stud at this spot and I'm at the level where I like what I hear from Charles cross left guard Right Guard seems makes me a little uneasy their best potentially offensive lineman alcas might start on pup we don't know his situation hasn't practiced yet anything you can do to stabilize another spot on this offensive line to me I'd pay whatever it takes to get him I not how JN will approach it but for my side offensive line is just such important development in the long-term stability of this franchise I I I if I can get Conor Williams I take the chance I'm I'm the same way uh got a question from one of our YouTube members here for us Luke says do we think he will be on a one-year deal or two or is three years even realistic I Jeff I mean I'm assuming I mean I think it would make sense for the Seahawks to try to get a multi-year deal yeah I think it makes sense for Conor Williams to get a one-year deal is that how you see it that's exactly how I see it if I'm the Seahawks I want to not have this problem next year and not going into the draft not going to the off season wondering who my Center is like we've done really since Justin Britt and from Williams perspective coming off an injury missing Camp coming a situation you kind of want to see if you're healthy and if you come back and you play really well a multi-year deal coming off an ACL doesn't make any sense you want to maximize on another really good season and try to cash in so a multiyear deal would be fantastic for the Seahawks if they can lock in this position if that's what they need to do to get him then go ahead and get him but for if I'm Drew Rosen house I want to one your deal I want him to play really really well this year and then I want to hit the market next year Should the Seahawks sign Connor Williams healthy yeah this is one of those things where it's situations where it's I mean get the guy get him in the building um pay him the money you have a need you have a fit he's young enough that if this works out he could a multi-year guy for you um he could be part of building up that offensive line where to be totally honest Jee I mean let's take a second and just imagine let's imagine the best case because that's fun right let's imagine that Drew rosenhouse is being serious that he's ready to start week one that he's had an amazing recovery let's say that he's also playing somewhere similar to the level he's been playing for the rest of his career prior to injuries um and let's assume like Charles cross has made the step that I've seen and others have seen this Camp you stabilized left guard L and Tomlinson is fine he's not like the best player in the world but he's fine and and then you've got George fan at right tackle Abe Lucas eventually and then you got a nice little competition at Right Guard with you know McLendon Curtis hopefully eventually and Christian Haynes and Anthony Bradford you've got other than Lake and Tomlinson you've got a very young largely controllable above average offensive line I think you you all of a sudden go from one of the worst offensive lines in football to an above average I'm not going to say it'd be one of the best I don't think that's true yet but Jeff I think Conor Williams if healthy and playing at his normal level would be the best offensive line and the Seahawks have added in the last last 15 years I think he's better than Dwayne Brown at his position at the age that Dwayne Brown was yeah and we saw the impact that Dwayne Brown had during that kind of window and this I think this could be a similar kind of spot and I I think you're not off base like even just adding like Mike eupati had a pretty big impact just stabilizing him that was the end of his career he would only play well for like six to eight games and then his age would start to show but yeah like Charles cross and I was listening to Daniel Jeremiah on the weekend he was talking about what you need to be a a Super Bowl Contender and one of the things on his list is you need two Cornerstone offensive lineman to be like a legitimate sustainable and if cross becomes the player that's sounds really optimistic on Cross I don't know if he's a Cornerstone yet but it seems like he he's goingon to take a step forward this year and then you add Conor Williams with the potential of ab Lucas and we don't know what Christian haes is at this point I don't know if he's like a Cornerstone player but he could be a stable guy this is the look of a pretty good group moving forward now and like you're and you're right they just haven't added anyone for years we just like please out a guard please out a center please out a guard and it's just been guys really it's been guys some turn Styles some just okay guys but no one's really been where they've graded 88 on PFF or a graded in the high 80s on PFF we haven't seen anyone and you question PFF all you you want and I do but if you don't look at every position still have the best players at basically every spot so you're right like really since Steve Hutchinson like there hasn't been Dwayne Brown would be the only comparison but we I just think for for what they to do what they want to do it's going to be hard to draft three guys left guard Center Right Guard to get one right now I think would be massive for this program yeah it would just be nice it' be nice to to have a legitimate Blue Chip player and um and I think that's I What does this mean for the Seahawks think that's what he is and um oh my gosh sorry I'm reacting because I saw that jamarco Jones speaking of offensive line was doing a try out for the 49ers and I was like jamarco Jones and Ray Roberts just responded jamarco Jones was a victim of quote let's have him play all five positions that handcuffed his development was a good Prospect but you become very average trying to be okay at all spots could have been a decent guard if that's all he was asked to do reay's been checking me on offensive line it's fun um so I you know I guess the expectation now is that we we're going to find out in the next couple of days and we'll do another show when that happens and and break down what happens from there but how much does this change let's let's assume it happens Jeff how much does this change the Seahawks prospects this year pretty big deal I we've said this whole thing no position impacts their stealing in floor more than the offensive line and by far unless you think inside linebacker but interior o line is pretty black mark on this roster years of mismanagement if Conor Williams could come in and play and we heard rosen's talk I you obviously got to put a little bit of a agent talk on there but if he has had this incredible recovery and he's at the level he was at before just stabilizing that Center Spot I think will have a huge impact on both the Run game the pass game everyone's been at Camp from the national side is just raving about Kenneth Walker and Paul M's view of Kenneth Walker I think it have a huge impact there I think it' have huge impact on I think again if Geno Smith gets protection we've talked about the difference in his play and we talked about how different of a player he was and he did get a lot better last year in the second half making plays on the move but when Gino's protected and running this Ryan grub creative offense I just think he has the chance to make this team into an offensive top 10 to top five offense if they can get good offensive line play and right now I see no path to great offensive line play but adding in Conor Williams that takes a big step in that direction do you think how how do you think that that the Seahawks offensive line would rank within the NFC West if they added him I think it vault's up to the second best one I think the Rams right now project pretty well I think the Rams have they got three guys injured though a lot of them were week to week but the Niners offensive line is not good it cost them a lot potential games last year Tren Williams is not even practicing he'll probably be there for the season I don't think the Cardinals offensive line projects anything so I think be pretty clearly has the potential to be second and again Charles cross taking a step forward the reports on him in Camp have been excellent McDonald seemed really really happy with him I know Albert Breer I know a lot of the media have talked about this so if you can combine him stepping forward and becoming like an next tier of player with a stability at Center and hopefully I'm hoping that Christian Haynes starts to lap Anthony Bradford of the next month and I I I think he's going to I don't get the sense that they're thrilled with what they're seen for Bradford that could be a couple different upgrades and I think George fan some people were worried about him I think it'll be fine I think he can hold the fort until AAS gets there so yeah I think there's a lot but I think he is the Domino Conor Williams at Center which is why I'm so eager about this that can really unlock their potential just to be even a solid offensive line uh Forest has another question Will Connor Williams play in preseason about if Conor Williams gets signed this week would he see the field during preseason my assumption Jeff is he will not I don't think he'll play he I think he would just be getting in shape and getting to know the offense and I do want to just take one second just to check us I I I don't see any situation where they decide to play him at guard and and keep Olu and Nick Harris at Center do you no I think if Olu was playing well or the reports were really good I would think that's possible and my initial thought when they brought him in for the visits like maybe they want him at left guard and Tomlinson's not working out but did you hear McDonald on with Brock and S today and they asked him about the interior offensive line yeah I think his answer was pretty telling it didn't and the reports and then Brady Henderson tweeted this afternoon like all Timmy is kind of losing steam in the center competition he's been banged up Nick Harris has been having better reps lately even though it sounds like he's been pancaked a couple times there's just such a clear spot it's like we need someone to take and then Harris could be a backup guard he could be a swing player on the roster um I think ol Timmy would be a much more logical backup center where he can come in be a solid path protector not great in the Run game but totally fine as a backup center we were really hoping that I don't see a situation unless there's an injury that reshuffles everything I I don't see any reason to play and McDonald no McDonald came out and said they're looking at him as a center no yes yes he did he did that's I mean that's why it seems very clear to me but but uh just just was kind of double-checking my own thought there we have a Super Chat from detail Super Chat oriented another member and appreciate the support he says Brian I heard that Williams had visited the Ravens today could this put a monkey wrench in the hospital deal have you heard anything more I'm worried yes we talked about this at the outset detail and appreciate the Super Chat uh yeah uh he did have a visit according to Adam Scher with the Ravens um if he's with the Ravens it almost certainly would be to play guard uh from what we understand Conor Williams prefers Center and also you know no don't s he says sorry I missed it do not apologize there's other people that are in the same boat so let's do a recap um I think the expectation is that what's going on is that Drew rosenhouse is utilizing the Ravens to negotiate um with the Seahawks and try to get more money out of them and that realistically it seems like the best bet is that he's still going to end up in Seattle but it's a it's a hope because the Ravens are an East Coast team the Ravens are um are uh a Super Bowl Contender they've got some things the Seahawks don't but they also have half the cap space that Seahawks do so I think this works out for the the Seahawks in the end hopefully um really quickly uh I'll give you a rundown people were like wondering about Connor Williams um so Connor Williams has been a player that played for the Cowboys um as a guard primarily uh he is uh played for the Dolphins last year as a center and was the second highest graded Center in the NFL at least by PFF last year 86.5 grade 90.5 run block grade uh absolute monster in terms of uh blocking down field and so that's a big deal uh good pass blocker as well um as a guard in Dallas he was also highly rated 76 uh grade um guard for Dallas but you know he's just a guy that is you know he was a certain Pro Bowl player um for the Dolphins last season before the injury and uh you know has I think and realize that that's his best position and it's part of why we expect him to be somebody that stays there um all right uh oh my gosh we got a new member which is my favorite thing Kyle Flanders welcome to the crew thank you so much for joining we're I think probably 10 people away maybe even less from having 50 new folks join so that I will go on the road to cover the Seahawks in New England for all of you um so really really happy to have you Kyle thank you for joining and uh hopefully more people will join you can also join at patreon.com hawkblogger where all the audio versions of our pods are and they're ad free and audio equalized and all that good stuff um all right I'm going to let Jeff Simmons go uh appreciate all of you for uh tuning in and if anything breaks uh otherwise we will talk more about it uh the last thing I will say uh let's talk a little bit about the Brandon iuk news I think it's not quote really news yet there was a report um that Brandon auk that a deal had been made with um uh the Pittsburgh Steelers um and this was uh a report by a guy named um let's see cam Marino cam Marino has 8,000 followers it does say he's formerly of USA Today I don't think it's that credible of a report uh there has been a report yesterday Matt makako from the NBC bay area who is a credal reporter said that a trade does seem increasingly likely so there is some validity to that Jord Schultz came out about an hour ago said there is no trade currently in place for Brandon iuk with the Steelers I'm told the 49ers have had discussions in recent days regarding a potential iuk trade with several teams but as of this post nothing is finalized so there is more smoke that this iuk deal may happen and maybe increasingly likely that it will happen but it has not happened yet there is no deal according to I think the most credible of sources that we've got to refer to but things are kind of moving in that direction and uh if that happens we will obviously come back share that news and talk about the implications for the Seahawks as well as a Seahawks fan what I want to see is I want to see him to go to Pittsburgh why do I want to see him go to Pittsburgh because almost certainly they will get back draft dra picks from whatever team they're trading um auk to Pittsburgh has been has had a winning record pretty much every season or maybe every season that Mike tomlin's been the coach so the draft picks that they get back would likely be lower less valuable uh if you're talking about the the Patriots which is another team that's likely be able to do it um their draft picks could be top five of whatever round they get so I would rather it not be the Patriots um the other team that's been recently in conversation the Browns that would be okay as well I think the Browns likely will be at least middle of the road if not a playoff contending team as they were a year ago so I think we want to stay away from New England as a destination because of the draft compensation Washington has seems to be quiet but I think Still Remains a logical place for them to go and Washington's an interesting one I mean I'm kind of bullish on the commanders this year I wouldn't be surprised if they outperform expectations but relative to like Pittsburgh I think you know Washington likely will have a worse record and better picks um oh my gosh we got another new member Jim Jones I love the alliteration and Jim Jones is now a member of the channel it's so great to have you Jim congrats I got to have some sort of like celebratory confetti that I get to play Whenever this happens um really really happy really appreciate the support and we are getting closer and closer single digits away from having enough new members that I will go on the road to cover the Seahawks in New England on the second week this season so really really appreciate that um welcome Jim and everybody else all the other people in the the the the crew the family are welcoming you as well so great to have you all right folks I think I'm going to drop it there pod number three already today um and if there's something else that happens I will come back and we'll do with pod number four because that's just how it goes so I uh appreciate all of you I will be writing up my Camp notes if you haven't already gone to Hawk blogger.com checked out my other writeups please do I think you'll appreciate some of the detail in there some of the the background stories um but I will write that up also if you are a club level or higher YouTube member you already have access to um you already have access to uh a Mike Morris interview that I posted go check it out you will smile it's a fun listen Mike's a great guy he's easy to cheer for I think he's going to be a big part of your team um so Club level or higher you can immediately go and watch that for everybody else it'll be available later tonight but for now YouTube members Club level and higher get immediate access so go check that out um appre appreciate appreciate all that you guys are doing to support the show and uh hopefully you're enjoying all the coverage Cu uh it's a fun time to be a Seahawks fan all right everybody I am out for now um please give the show a like and click subscribe click the Bell to get notified because that's the only way you'll know when I go live whatever news happens I will go live um I am Brian Mouser and this has been a special edition of Haw blogger mornings take care y'all