Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch said this piece when he wore holdout Kam Chancellor’s jersey at practice Thursday. For a moment Seattle defensive coordinator Kris Richard had to do a double-take, wondering whether his Pro Bowl safety was back.
“It was, ‘Oh, is he?’” Richard said. “Just not as tall, but he is as wide, and thick, and powerful. Honestly, it’s just a testament to the closeness of our locker room, and how much each and every single guy means to one another, so that was pretty cool.”
Richard was asked whether a different team would have forced Lynch to change out of the jersey (making a subtle Spiderman reference in the process):
“Yeah, maybe. But that’s how we are here. You have the right and the ability to express yourself and who you are, and it’s not shied upon or frowned upon. And ultimately what it comes down to is with that comes great responsibility, that fact right there. So our ultimate responsibility is to make sure that we protect this team. So no, here, obviously not. Somewhere else, maybe.”
There’s been a lot of doom and gloom regarding Chancellor’s holdout recently, but Richard injected some optimism into the proceedings:
“We stay in contact and we’re all encouraged by it. We want him here, he wants to be here, and right now both sides are working. Everybody cares, everybody wants the right thing, everybody wants him here. He wants to be here, we want him here, and there will be a resolution.”
Would Richard be surprised if Chancellor’s holdout extended deep into the season?
“Yeah, I would be surprised, because we know how much this game, this team means to him. Right now he’s taking a stand. But there’s ultimate support on both sides. The closeness, the real relationships, who we are, who he is, it will not change.”
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Free safety Earl Thomas took the podium Thursday and declared himself fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. He also delivered a couple zingers. Thomas is still wearing a shoulder harness, and he was asked if it limited his movement:
“If it’s going to talk the opposing offenses into throwing my way, then yeah.”
Asked if he felt any trepidation on delivering hits with his shoulder, he responded:
“I don’t even know what trepidation means.”
So it would appear Thomas is in midseason form. At least as far as his attitude is concerned.
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