Seahawks say Bennett has not asked for trade

This seems like a pertinent time to remind there will be 235 days between Super Bowl 49 and the first game of the 2015 regular season.

That’s A LOT of time to think — and then report — whatever.

The Seattle Seahawks say that is the case with a report Tuesday by the Fort Worth Star- Telegram.

“Dallas has the inside track to sign (free-agent defensive end) Greg Hardy. But don’t overlook Seattle who might need him to replace Michael Bennett,” Clarence Hill, the Star-Telegram’s beat writer for the Cowboys, reported Tuesday. “Per multiple sources, Michael Bennett is seeking a trade to Atlanta and a new contract.”

A Seahawks spokesman told the TNT that is news to the team.

The spokesman said Bennett has not asked the Seahawks for a trade, to anywhere. The spokesman added the team has no idea of a basis for that Twitter-fueled rumor about its dynamic, disruptive defensive end who signed a $28.5 million contract before he dominated much of last season.

Atlanta, of course, has as its new coach as of Feb. 3 former Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Bennett, like almost every guy on Seattle’s defense, not just likes but loves Quinn. So there’s where those two dots come from. Dots from the Twitter-sphere, that is.

Here’s more glimpses into how this latest offseason NFL sausage/story may have been made:

The agent with whom Bennett signed his deal with the Seahawks last year is Drew Rosenhaus. The agent who’s been in negotiations the last couple days with the Cowboys over a potential new contract for Hardy is … Drew Rosenhaus.

That may explain why a long-time Cowboys beat writer reported there may a growing market for Hardy, in the midst of Hardy trying to close a deal with Dallas.

A little leverage created by an agent always helps to create a maximum-value contract for a client. Especially one that is facing a possible six-game suspension at the start of next season, according to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King.

Hardy had 26 sacks for Carolina in the 2012 and ’13 seasons, then spent last season on the Panthers’ commissioner’s exempt (in-trouble) list. Last year a judge in North Carolina convicted Hardy of assaulting and threatening his ex-girlfriend, but he then appealed and asked for a jury trial. The second trial ended and the case was dismissed when his accuser could not be located to testify.

So it’s plausible Rosenhaus may be simply doing his job here, trying to get the most out of Dallas for his client.

The Seahawks have some interest in Hardy for potential pass-rush depth following the departure of defenssive end O’Brien Schofield to the Falcons on a free-agent deal last week. But Dallas remains the front-runner to sign Hardy. The Seahawks spokesman said the team is merely doing its “due diligence” by calling people and exploring whether it can and indeed wants to possibly sign Hardy.

The team says it has no free-agent visit scheduled with him, contrary to reports from Monday.

The Seahawks know the mere potential of adding Hardy now, with all the concerns and perceptions that would come with him, requires even more “diligence” than usual. That’s true whether that results in a signing or not.

Richard impresses Williams

The new apparent heir to departed starting cornerback Byron Maxwell says a primary reason he’s now a Seahawk is Seattle’s new defensive coordinator, promoted defensive backs coach Kris Richard.

Cary Williams, a Super Bowl champion with Baltimore who signed an $18 million, three-year contract last week with Seattle after two seasons with Philadelphia, said Richard blew him away during the cornerback’s free-agent visit to the Seahawks. Williams said Richard was funny, insightful and honest in pointing out Williams’ — and his own — strengths and weaknesses.

“It was real, man,” Williams said during a conference call from his offseason home in Nashville.

“I’d run through a brick wall for the guy.”

Williams said he immediately felt a “family”-like atmosphere inside Seahawks headquarters. He got the feeling reinforced by new teammates Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor texting him welcomes and congratulations immediately after he agreed to the new contract.