The NFL sent another message to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday, delivering the harshest penalty yet for the team's violation of offseason practice rules.
The Seahawks were fined $400,000 and coach Pete Carroll was fined $200,000 for on-field contact between players during a June 6 organized team activity. The team will also forgo its first OTA period (three days) in 2017.
But the biggest blow is the loss of a 2017 fifth-round draft pick.
General manager John Schneider and his staff pride themselves on finding gems late in the draft.
The Seahawks haven't been as successful with late-round picks since 2014. Only two of the last 13 players selected in the fifth round or later are still on the roster.
But that's the point. In a way, those picks are lottery tickets. Bank on a few guys who have high upsides and maybe one reaches his potential. The Seahawks now have one fewer chip to invest and one fewer chip to trade.
Last summer, they sent a fifth-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for safety Kelcie McCray. McCray has emerged as the team's third safety and a valuable contributor on special teams.
When the Seahawks were penalized in 2014, they were considered a "repeat offender," according to a USA Today report. And they were penalized for the same issue in 2012.
Carroll will hate to lose an OTA period, and nobody likes to get fined, but the loss of a fifth-round pick is what will bother the Seahawks the most about their latest penalty.
