SEATTLE – From the time he signed one of the most lucrative contracts in Seattle Seahawks history, defensive end Grant Wistrom had to know his days were numbered.
Rarely does a high-priced free agent play out the entire length of the deal in today’s NFL, and so the six-year, $33 million contract Wistrom signed in 2004 was unlikely to ever get paid in full.
And after the addition of another expensive defensive end, the thin ice finally broke under Wistrom on Thursday.
The Seattle Seahawks have told Wistrom that he will be released. Rather than pay the $3.5 million base salary he was due to receive in the fall – which doesn’t include the $2.3 million prorated signing bonus that will still affect the team’s cap – the Seahawks will part ways with Wistrom.
The Seahawks confirmed the move Thursday, saying that the door was still open for Wistrom to return to the team at a lesser salary.
The move comes in the same week that the Seahawks signed defensive end Patrick Kerney to a six-year, $39 million contract. Coach Mike Holmgren said that Kerney will start on the left side of the defensive line, which probably means Bryce Fisher will move over to Wistrom’s spot on the right side.
Wistrom, 30, had 11 1/2 sacks over three seasons with Seattle, including an injury-plagued 2004 year that saw him play in just nine games.
Since Wistrom joined the team as a much-publicized free agent, the Seahawks went 31-17 and made three consecutive postseason appearances.
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