Kam Chancellor's Holdout Couldn't Be Going Any Better

Kam Chancellor is still negotiating with the Seahawks for a new contract, and as his holdout bled into Week 1 of the regular season, undrafted sophomore Dion Bailey took his place at strong safety Sunday against the Rams. It was clear that Chancellor’s starting job will be waiting for him when he comes back.

With :59 left in the game, St. Louis had the ball down seven. Tight end Lance Kendricks lined up wide on the left with Bailey on him. To say that Kendricks got past with a stutter move would be an exaggeration, because he basically moved to his left, and Bailey slipped on the turf trying to keep up. The pass was on target, and the Rams tied the game:

Wait, one more time. Here’s the before:

And, the after:

The Seahawks shit their pants in overtime, which was not Bailey’s fault, but after the game, he still felt awful about his error. Via 710 ESPN Seattle:

“I’ve got to go 100 percent on my opportunities,” Bailey said. “I missed a big one today. I’ve got to learn from it and represent my family name better next week.”

[...]

“I’ve got to learn from it and get better,” Bailey said. “You play well for the first three quarters, it doesn’t matter. You win in the fourth. So how I played before that play doesn’t matter to me.

“You’ve got to learn from it, get better and next week I’ve got to show up and earn my teammates’ trust again.”

Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett did their best to reassure Bailey that it was just the first game of the season and not the end of the world, but while the second-year safety moves on, Chancellor and his camp are probably feeling fine about their situation. Seattle’s 0-1 and very possibly wouldn’t be if it had Chancellor. Maybe the two sides will resolve the issue this week.

Photo: AP

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