Seahawks DE Clark: 'I got no elbows'

Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark said he played the final three games of the 2018 season at 60 percent due to torn ulnar collateral ligaments in his elbows. "I wouldn't lie to you guys. I played the whole season at 60 percent," Clark wrote on Twitter Tuesday night. "Trust me I hit it well. Two torn UCL's in one season. Both against the Minnesota Vikings." Clark was first on the injury report with an elbow injury in Week 2. The Seahawks played the Vikings in the preseason and again Dec. 10. He said via Twitter on Tuesday, "I ain't have no elbows mane." There was little sign of a slowdown from Clark, a player head coach Pete Carroll said last month would not be let out of Seattle as he approaches free agency in March. "He is a Seahawk," Carroll said on ESPN 710 Seattle on Christmas Eve. "He ain't going anywhere. We aren't losing him." Meeting with reporters later that day, Carroll added, "We've got to figure [Clark's contract situation] out somehow. It's a big issue." Clark, a 2015 second-round pick, had a career season in the final year of his rookie deal. He has career highs of 13 sacks and 27 QB hits. The 25-year-old told reporters in October there's no place he'd rather be than Seattle. Those comments came two days after Clark's agent told ESPN his client was in no hurry to sign an extension, as the defensive end planned to maximize his earnings on his next contract. As part of the patient approach, Clark has an insurance policy to guard against injury. If the two sides are unable to reach a long-term deal before spring, the Seahawks likely will use the franchise tag on Clark, which would give him a one-year salary around $19 million. The sides would then have until mid-July to hammer out a long-term extension, or else have Clark play the 2019 season on the tag. Clark has made about $3.7 million total over four years on his rookie contract. --Field Level Media