Rumor: Frank Clark on the Trading Block

Rumors spread in early March that Seahawks‘ defensive end Frank Clark was being shopped in trade talks. Rumors cooled down when nothing came of them, but here in April there are more rumblings of the 25 year old defensive end being moved. What makes this interesting is that the Bills were one of the teams most frequently mentioned when talking about landing spots for Clark.

Seattle placed their franchise tag on Clark in early March, which makes him a Seahawk for at least another season. However, Clark doesn’t seem satisfied with the tag as he may holdout until given an extension. This gives Seattle a bit of a headache as they sit with $10 million in cap space. They would have to break the bank to even have a chance at signing Clark before the season. Hence the trade rumors. If Seattle were to trade Clark they could get something in return rather than having him sit out and/or sign somewhere else after this season, which would leave them empty handed when all is said and done.

So who is Frank Clark? In short, a monster. And a young one. At just 25 years old, Clark just finished his fourth NFL season with 13 sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception. The numbers are outstanding, but the tape is better. Clark has an incredibly rare combination of speed and strength that make him a nightmare for offenses. He is just as capable of slipping by linemen untouched as he is bowling right through them. There’s more. He has mastered the new roughing the passer rule change. Pass rushers were up in arms last season as tackles that were perfectly fine every year prior were flagged for 15 yards. Not Clark though, who managed to deliver bone crushing hits while either jumping to avoid landing on the quarterback, or bringing the quarterback down on top of himself. That’s a move you might expect from a highly skilled seasoned vet. I want to give a comparison here but I have literally never seen anyone else do it. Once again, he is just 25 years old.

Rumors of the Bills having interest in Clark are abundant. But with the draft so close, we as fans have to be careful with what we believe. At this time of the year, teams are notorious for spreading false information to hide their draft plans. With this considered, I would not be surprised if Beane was seriously pursuing Clark. Beane loves physical freaks (see Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds). Frank Clark is nothing if not a physical freak, and at 25 years old he would be a franchise player if signed to a long term deal. Players like Clark do not come into the league often and any price for him is most likely a good one. Only time will tell if there is any merit to these rumors, but until then I’ll be playing Frank Clark’s highlights on repeat and praying to the football gods that the Bills makes a move for him.

Do you want Clark in Buffalo? Comment below.