Seahawks deny report Michael Bennett is seeking trade to Falcons, new contract

The Seattle Seahawks are reportedly sniffing around free-agent defensive end Greg Hardy, which doesn't necessarily make sense. 

The Seahawks are set with Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril and Bruce Irvin as their primary edge-rushers. Unless they aren't set, after all.

Clarence Hill of the Star Telegram passed along a juicy rumor that Bennett is seeking a trade to the Atlanta Falcons and a new contract, too. 

The Seahawks denied the rumor, though, saying they haven't heard anything about a trade from Bennett or his agent. 

Bennett's old defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, is now head coach in Atlanta, and the Falcons need to bolster their pass rush. The rumor makes some sense from those angles.

Players are rarely granted permission to seek a trade, however, and especially not when they have only one trade partner in mind. The Seahawks would have no leverage in such a scenario and thus are extremely unlikely to get involved.

This seems like a case of Bennett's agent trying to create some buzz around his client, perhaps in hopes of earning him a raise.