Leroy Hill's status with Seahawks remains unclear
Posted by Danny O'Neil
Leroy Hill remains in limbo. The linebacker is on the roster, but not on the field and when new linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. answered three questions for the team's Web site Hill was not only absent from Norton's survey, but David Hawthorne -- the player who is taking Hill's place as the weakside linebacker with the first-unit defense -- was specifically highlighted:
"David Hawthorne stepped in last year when Lofa was hurt. He's extremely explosive, a big-play guy and a very good tackler. He's the type of guy that you can't hold back. You need him on the field. I don't even consider him a backup. He's a starter until someone unseats him."-- Ken Norton Jr. via Seahawks.com
Well, that's kind of telling. So is the fact that Anthony Heygood -- a practice-squad linebacker last season -- was mentioned, but not Hill.
Seattle's current approach with Hill is that he shall not be spoken of. Not unless a reporter asks coach Pete Carroll or GM John Schneider about him, and then the explanation will be that Hill has been given time to take care of his situation, a reference to his arrest last month after allegations of domestic violence.
Now this is the first instance in which Seattle's new administration of Carroll and Schneider has dealt with a player charged with a crime, which in this instance is a misdemeanor. It is impossible to say whether the path they've followed with Hill is out of the ordinary since we don't know how the Seahawks will deal with these situations going forward.
But compared to previous instances under previous coaches and executives, this is out of the ordinary. Sean Locklear started a playoff game less than a week after he was arrested on a similar charge. Bryce Fisher and Rocky Bernard weren't told to stay home after offseason arrests, and it's worth pointing out that the charges against Fisher were dropped and Bernard was granted a two-year continuance in his case.
That's not to diminish the severity of the allegations against Hill or criticize the way the team is handling the current situation, it's only to point out that this current situation is unusual and leads to a degree of uncertainty regarding projections of Hill's future with the team.
Hill signed a six-year contract with the team in 2009. That contract calls for him to make $6 million in base salary in 2010. Mike Sando, who covers the NFC West for ESPN.com, broke down the contract, and while he said he didn't think Seattle was to that point of cutting Hill to save that salary, he did infer it was a possibility. According to ProFootballtalk.com, that salary is guaranteed. I have not been able to definitively answer whether the salary is or is not guaranteed, making it one of the many questions left open about both Hill and his future with the Seahawks.
