Report: Kam Chancellor says he and Seattle Seahawks just $900K apart

Holdout safety Kam Chancellor says he and the Seattle Seahawks are $900,000 apart in negotiations, and he said the team is being "petty."

In his first comments since he began his holdout 40 days ago, Chancellor on Wednesday told NFL Network's Dan Hellie that he is not asking for more money but wants $4 million moved from 2017 to 2016.

That would bump his 2016 salary from $5.1 million to $9.1 million and lower his 2017 salary from $6.8 million to $2.8 million.

According to Hellie, Chancellor said he has been willing to meet the Seahawks halfway and the sides are just $900,000 apart. That means the Hawks have offered to move forward $3.1 million from 2017 to 2016.

Chancellor, 27, said he didn't want to wait until he was almost 30 to rework his contract, Hellie reported.

Meanwhile, coach Pete Carroll ruled the safety out of the team's season opener in St. Louis on Sunday.

"He's not here so he's not playing. That's it," Carroll said Wednesday.

Cornerback Richard Sherman said, "Everybody's disappointed. You expect to have him. But, like I said, we've got to go with the guys we have."

Dion Bailey will start at strong safety Sunday against the Rams.

Sherman said he is not surprised Chancellor will miss a game.

"No, because he plays a certain way. He's a man. He's about his morals. He believes in what he believes, and he stands for his beliefs, so that's what he's doing."

Asked whether Chancellor's holdout has affected the locker room, Sherman said, "I think everybody understands his stance and has understood it the entire camp. So I think we'll be fine."

NFL Network's Albert Breer reported that Chancellor could become the first player to have a holdout drag into the regular season under the current collective bargaining agreement -- not including quarterback Carson Palmer, who "retired" before he was traded to the Oakland Raiders.

Chancellor's current contract runs through the 2017 season and is set to pay him $4.55 million this year. However, Chancellor faces fines of more than $1.5 million for the holdout.

Chancellor was Seattle's fifth-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech in 2010. After playing every game as a reserve during his rookie season, he started all but three games over the next four years, making the Pro Bowl three times.