Despite a few reports that the Seahawks and Matt Hasselbeck were far apart on contract talks before the NFL pressed pause, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday the two sides were reasonably close to a deal.
“We made a run at getting it done before the stoppage and just weren’t able to work anything out,” Carroll said via Mike Sando of ESPN.com. “As we go forward, Matt has been in our plans the whole time and now that it’s in free agency [at some point in the future], we just have to see what happens.”
Both Hasselbeck and Seattle could have better options. The Seahawks could go after Kevin Kolb and/or a rookie pick. Hasselbeck may be able to get paid more elsewhere.
“Financially, we went after it and couldn’t get it done,” Carroll said. “In my mind, it kind of came right down to the final day of it. We made an effort and they made an effort.”
We don’t doubt Carroll and Hasselbeck both made an effort. But the lack of a deal is a clear sign both sides recognize their best option may not be to continue together.