When the Seattle Seahawks’ season came to an end in January and players were cleaning out their lockers, wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, who was about to become an unrestricted free agent, said he would not take a hometown discount to stay with the Seahawks.

Now with the NFL’s free agency period on the verge of opening, it seems Kearse won’t be returning to Seattle.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday that Kearse, one of Seattle’s starting receivers, doesn’t intend to return to the Seahawks next season.

Schefter tweeted: “Seahawks WR Jermaine Kearse reiterated Thursday that he does not plan to return to Seattle and is looking forward to finding a new home.”

Kearse fit the profile of a player who may have taken a little less money to remain with the Seahawks. He’s originally from Lakewood, just outside Tacoma. He played collegiately at the University of Washington. He went undrafted in 2012, but the Seahawks gave him a chance as a rookie free agent. He worked his way into the starting lineup in 2014, and last season he set career highs in receptions (49), receiving yards (685) and receiving touchdowns (five). He finished second on the team in receiving yards and third in both receptions and receiving TDs.

However, Schefter’s report suggests Kearse will be too expensive for the Seahawks to bring back. Last week the NFL set the 2016 salary cap at $155.27 million, which is $12 million more than last season, and Seattle will save $6.5 million in cap space because of running back Marshawn Lynch’s impending retirement. However, the Seahawks carried over a league-low $11,587 of unused cap space from last season, and according to spotrac.com they already have more than $122 million committed to players for 2016 (when Lynch is taken out of the equation), giving Seattle small margins to work with in filling holes and signing draft picks.

Seattle also has a ready-made replacement for Kearse in Tyler Lockett. Lockett had an eye-opening rookie season in 2015, catching 51 passes for 664 yards and six touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl as a return specialist.

Kearse is one of seven Seattle starters who are unrestricted free agents. The others are tackle Russell Okung, guard J.R. Sweezy, defensive tackles Brandon Mebane and Ahtyba Rubin, linebacker Bruce Irvin and cornerback Jeremy Lane. The Seahawks have 17 unrestricted free agents total.

Unrestricted free agents can begin negotiating with other teams Monday. Teams can begin signing other teams’ free agents Wednesday.

Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.