Schneider said the team expects Clark to remain with the team in 2019 and didn't rule out he could be given a franchise tag.

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INDIANAPOLIS — What’s the future hold for Frank Clark? Are the Seahawks ready to begin talking contract with quarterback Russell Wilson?

Seahawks general manager John Schneider was asked about those topics, and a lot more, when he talked with reporters for more than a half-hour Wednesday at the NFL combine.

Here are nine things that stood out:

DON’T EXPECT FRANK CLARK TO GET AWAY

Clark can be an unrestricted free agent March 13. But the team can also place a franchise tag on him by March 5, guaranteeing him about $17.3 million or so for the 2019 season (official numbers have yet to be set). And Schneider indicated Wednesday the team will use the tag on Clark if a long-term deal is not reached by March 5.

“Frank and I, we have a great relationship,’’ Schneider said. “The communication has been great. There’s a strong level of trust between the two of us. That would be the update.”

So do you expect Clark to be a Seahawk in 2019?

“Yeah,’’ Schneider said.

Asked about using the tag on Clark, Schneider said only “I don’t know that yet.’’

The Seahawks last used the franchise tag on kicker Olindo Mare in 2010. In past years, when the Seahawks were not going to use it, Schneider would say the team had no intention of using it. That he didn’t say that Wednesday confirms Seattle likely will use it on Clark if it needs to while then continuing to negotiate a long-term deal. In any event, the main takeaway is Clark will be a Seahawk in 2019. Beyond that, there’s still some work to be done.

WILSON: NO REAL TALKS, NO REASON TO WORRY

Russell Wilson’s contract runs out after the 2019 season, and that has led to steady discussion already of if and when the Seahawks might get an extension done with him, including a, well, interesting rumor that surfaced last week that Wilson’s wife, Ciara, might prefer the couple be based in New York and that the Giants might be interested in trading for him.

Schneider laughed off that rumor while saying he had no choice but to at least try to find out where it came from.

“You do your research right?’’ Schneider said. “But it’s kind of stuff that I know it’s hard to say it without, this is not being disrespectful at all, but it is just kind of stuff out there, it’s the offseason and there is not a lot to talk about so people just let it rip. Why not? Put it out, see if it sticks.’’

More to the point is that the Seahawks expect to talk with Wilson at some point this offseason about an extension, but for now, the more immediate needs of pending 2019 free agents — such as Clark — take precedence.

“We’ve been in communication with his agent Mark (Rodgers), and I’m sure we’ll continue to talk,’’ Schneider said. “There are some guys who are unrestricted free agents right now, so we try to work through that process, the different phases of it. There’s several guys that have one year left on their contract in terms of extension, obviously he’s incredibly important.”

Rodgers, like most agents, will attend the combine this week and could meet with Schneider while he is here.

Schneider said one thing he doesn’t doubt is that Wilson is committed to staying with Seattle for the long-term.

“I do (think that),’’ he said. “I don’t have any other reason to believe that, other than website rumors and stuff like that.”

But if Schneider sounds confident Wilson will stay with the Seahawks for the long haul, he also intimated getting to the point of a completed contract may come with some bumps.

That includes the uncertainty of what the league’s collective-bargaining agreement will look like after 2020, when the current one expires.

“That’s a great question,” Schneider said when asked what impact the uncertainty of the CBA could have on negotiations for players such as Wilson, who would be looking at contracts that would take them well past 2021. “That’s going to factor in. That’s definitely a factor.”

How much of one remains to be seen.

SEAHAWKS WOULD BE HAPPY TO KEEP FREE AGENTS, BUT …

Among Seattle’s other impending unrestricted free agents are linebacker K.J. Wright, cornerback Justin Coleman and starting guards D.J. Fluker and J.R. Sweezy.

Schneider said the team would like to keep all of them but also said Wright, as well as each of the others, is expected to test the market and see what happens.

“Throughout the week here this is when we meet with all of our players’ agents,’’ Schneider said. “I’ve met with them (players) all individually so they know how much we like them and what they are going to hear from their agents, they are hearing it from us first. So K.J. has been a really, really important part of what we have been doing and we would love to have him back. It’s just a matter of him, his people are going to figure out and get a good lay of the land this week in terms of speaking with other teams, you know. But obviously we are going to stay in close communication with him.

“ … We sit down with all of our unrestricted guys and talk to them. We have a personal talk before they get to free agency, so they know what’s shaking. We’ll meet with all of their representatives down here. So by the end of the week we’ll have a better feel for where his market lies. He’s been incredible for us. He had a rough year with a knee injury, but when he played, he was phenomenal. We love him.”

SCHNEIDER REPORTING TO JODY ALLEN

The Seahawks here reiterated what they have said for months — the team is not for sale.

Rumors that it could be surfaced in the wake of the October death of owner Paul Allen. Allen’s sister, Jody, assumed control of the team after Paul Allen’s death.

Since the end of the season the team has clarified the ownership situation. The team is now listed as being owned by the Paul G. Allen Trust with Jody Allen listed as the “Chair, Seahawks, Chair, Vulcan Inc.; Trustee of Paul G. Allen Trust.”

Said Schneider: “I used to report to Paul and now I report to Jody so it’s just, it’s been hard but she has been amazing. She’s real responsive, she is into it. She’s aligned, she wants to win, it’s been great in that regard.’’

SEAHAWKS WILL ADD ANOTHER KICKER

Sebastian Janikowski, the team’s kicker in 2018, is another set to become an unrestricted free agent, and at age 41 next year and having battled injuries at the end of last season is generally expected likely not to return.

Seattle sent a strong signal of that when it signed free agent Sam Ficken — who had stints with the Rams in 2017 and 2018 — shortly after the playoff loss to Dallas.

Schneider said the team hasn’t ruled out that Janikowski could be re-signed but said one way or another, Ficken will have competition.

“Yeah, we’ve talked to Sebastian’s guys,’’ Schneider said. “Sam had a great workout with us, so we wanted to get him in there as quickly as we could and have that stable guy. And we’ll continue to look for somebody to compete with him.’’

TEAM HOPES TO KEEP IFEDI AROUND

One other decision the Seahawks have to make this offseason is whether to pick up a fifth-year option on the contract of 2016 first-round pick Germain Ifedi. The deadline to pick up the option is May 3. The salary Ifedi would get has yet to be set, but last year it would have paid Ifedi $9.65 million. This year figures to be slightly higher (the salary is guaranteed for injury only). Ifedi is due to make $1.5 million in 2019 in the fourth year of his rookie contract.

Some signs — such as the way the free-agent market for offensive tackles appears to be developing — point to Ifedi getting the option picked up.

Schneider didn’t definitively say that Wednesday but did say “I hope so’’ when asked if he thinks Ifedi will be part of the team long term.

Ifedi started 14 games at right tackle in 2018 and another at right guard.

“He finished strong,’’ Schneider said. “He had a really good year. He did a really nice job. (Offensive line) coach (Mike) Solari did a really good job with him, and I think his confidence really started picking up. He was a guy that he had a rough go early on. … But his confidence, he finished really strong.’’

MALIK MCDOWELL REMAINS ON ROSTER FOR NOW

Seattle’s first pick in the 2017 draft, defensive tackle Malik McDowell, won’t ever play for the Seahawks after suffering a head injury in an ATV accident in the summer of 2017.

But he technically remains on the team’s roster. While he was waived before the start of last season, he cleared waivers and then reverted back to Seattle’s non-football injury list. That list means McDowell does not count against any active roster — he would not count as part of the team’s 90-man training camp, for instance. But he technically is still Seattle property.

Schneider confirmed that Wednesday but said otherwise he can’t talk about the specifics of McDowell’s situation

“You know, I can’t talk about him,’’ Schneider said. “I really can’t.”

One of the reasons for the silence is that the team is heeding to the request of McDowell’s family not to give out details (since the injury was not suffered on the field of play the team doesn’t have to be as open as it would about an injury that happens in a practice or game). There also apparently remains the possibility of litigation.

McDowell, the 35th overall pick out of Michigan State, signed a contract worth up to $6.9 million with $4.9 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3.1 million.

CONDITIONING CHANGES A ‘FOCUS ON GETTING BETTER’

The Seahawks last week announced some significant changes to their strength and conditioning and medical staffs. Of most note, former UW strength and conditioning coach Ivan Lewis — who has been at USC since 2014 — has been hired to replace Chris Carlisle in that same role with the Seahawks. Carlisle had been with the Seahawks since 2010, coming to Seattle with Carroll from USC.

“Just trying to focus on getting better,’’ Schneider said of the reason for the change. “Pete’s always talked about doing it better than it’s ever been done before. And so we went through that. We had a good evaluation of where we’ve been, regarding injuries and injury prevention. Again, that’s our training staff, our strength and conditioning staff, sports science, we are trying to be the best we possibly can be. Equipment; we want to have the safest helmets, you know, and equipment. It’s, how are we affecting the players? Who is putting their hands on them? And, how are we helping them get better every day?”

AND THREE QUICK-HIT NOTES

• Linebacker Mychal Kendricks is reportedly set to be sentenced April 4, a date that was originally set in January before being delayed. Schneider said only that the team is “waiting to hear” if Kendricks will be available in 2019.

• Schneider said tight end Will Dissly, who suffered a patella tendon injury in the fourth game of the season against Arizona, is “doing great” but that it’s too early to set a timeline for when he will be ready to return.

• Schneider said receiver Doug Baldwin has had a couple of different medical procedures since the end of the season, though he didn’t give details, and said Baldwin is rehabbing in the team facility regularly and expected to be ready for the 2019 season. Baldwin missed three games last season — his first missed games since 2012 — while dealing with injuries to each knee as well as a groin/hip issue.