PHOENIX -- Seahawks general manager John Schneider addressed several of Seattle's additions in free agency and other significant items surrounding the team with members of the local media corps Tuesday at the NFL owners' meetings.
Schneider spoke for nearly 22 minutes on the additions the team has made in free agency, positional outlooks for the team as the draft approaches and updated the status of several members already under contract with the team.
Here are a few of the more important subjects Schneider touched on during his meetings with reporters:
1. Team still investigating Trevone Boykin's arrest in Dallas.
Seahawks backup quarterback Trevone Boykin was arrested early Monday morning in Dallas on marijuana possession and public intoxication charges after being a passenger in a car accident that injured eight people.
Schneider said he spoke with Boykin Monday afternoon about the incident.
"We are still getting all the information," Schneider said. "I haven’t even read the police report yet. I spoke with him yesterday afternoon and he was incredibly apologetic. Felt like wrong place at the wrong time but we have to keep researching it and find out what is going on in terms of his future with the club, like I said I don’t have all the information yet. But we are obviously going to have somebody in there competing with him at some point."
2. All quiet on the Marshawn Lynch front.
Despite rampant rumors that former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is looking to come out of retirement to play for the Oakland Raiders, Lynch still remains on Seattle's retired list and nothing appears to be brewing currently regarding a return to the NFL.
"I talk to his representatives all the time," Schneider said. "They have a ton of players. Marshawn, what I can tell you is he’s on reserve/retired as a Seattle Seahawk right now. And that’s where it stands. It kind of took off like wildfire for one weekend.”
3. Schneider doesn't exactly close door on Richard Sherman trade rumors.
Former NFL executive Michael Lombardi said in a podcast recently on The Ringer that he has heard that the Seahawks would be open to possibly trading cornerback Richard Sherman.
"I truly believe, based on what I hear around the National Football League, that the Seahawks would in fact, for the right deal, trade Richard Sherman," Lombardi said as part of a larger discussion surrounding the New Orleans Saints interest in New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler.
When asked about the idea on Tuesday, Schneider didn't slam a door on the idea.
"I mean, we listen," Schneider said. "We listen to like everything you would think. We're in a lot of stuff. We try to pride ourselves on that. I think I've told you guys before we walk away from 98 percent of the deals that we're involved with or talking about. But at least we know that we've knocked down their door, we've gone in there and checked it out. We're not just going to assume. We always just have to constantly be thinking about the organization and how we're going to move it forward."
The practicality of a deal for Sherman this year doesn't seem feasible. From a contract and asset standpoint - not to mention a lack of depth at the position following DeShawn Shead's ACL tear - the Seahawks need Sherman on the field this year.
But after a tumultuous season that saw Sherman twice blow up at coaches on the sidelines, go on to further blast the coaching staff publicly afterward and defiantly insist he was justified in those actions, the Seahawks haven't completely push the kibosh on the idea.
4. Bradley McDougald the next Michael Bennett or Cliff Avril?
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Bradley McDougald signed a one-year deal with Seattle last week. While Seattle appears set at both safety spots with Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, Schneider seemed excited about the addition of McDougald.
He even compared the signing to a couple other successes the team has had in free agency.
"He was just too good of a player for us," Schneider said. "It was very similar to when we ran into Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril several years ago. It was just a player we had rated very highly as an unrestricted guy. We loved what he did last year with 90-some tackles and we just felt like, the guys was still out there, it was one of those deals where we have a good relationship with his agent, they reached out to us and his market didn’t necessarily go where he wanted so that’s why we were able to work out a one-year deal with him and just see where it goes. But really athletically he could honestly he’s got coverage skills too, so he could play wherever you want. But at the very least he’s going to compete at free safety, strong safety he could play some nickel, could play all over the place. It’s going to be can he take that step with our defensive staff and all the teaching and everything and all the technique and everything that goes into it and all the work that those guys do to improve his game and as of last year he had a really nice season so."
5. Michael Wilhoite, Terence Garvin to compete at SAM linebacker spot.
With the addition of three linebackers in free agency, the Seahawks will have a competition this offseason for the starting strong-side linebacker spot.
Wilhoite, coming from the San Francisco 49ers, and Garvin, coming from the Washington Redskins will be the top two players involved in the battle.
"Wilhoite played very well last year," Schneider said. "He’s always been a core special teams player for them. Garvin, same, just really, really tough. Short-area quickness is really good. Good instincts. Just a guy that we felt like we’re looking at a specific type of person. And both these guys fit that category."
Schneider said Mike Morgan is still available and remains a possibility to return as well. However, he also noted that the SAM linebacker position has became marginalized in the modern NFL landscape as well.
"It’s really hard to say you’re going to take a huge risk on somebody or step out on a limb for somebody because the reps are, it’s 15 to 17 or something like that is the average. So that’s why you see that position in our defense, it’s just a nickel league now."
Photo Credit: SEATTLE, WA - NOVEMBER 20: General manager John Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks, center, is greeted by Philadelphia Eagles staff at CenturyLink Field on November 20, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)