Negotiating a contract is a bit like making sausage, no one wants to see how it's actually made. Actually, I think that sausage comparison is used to describe the assembly of everything from legislation to television to a daily newspaper.

So maybe getting close to an agreement on a contract is like being almost pregnant.

Or maybe I should just stop the tortured metaphors and report that there has been a buzz about the Seahawks and Lynch getting close to a long-term deal, and now there is a report that they're not close to a long-term deal.

So what's the real story? Well, they haven't agreed to a deal yet. But they're still working on it. Seahawks general manager John Schneider said he was meeting with Lynch's representative on Thursday night. There was another meeting on Saturday night here in Indianapolis.

Hanging in the background is the reality that Seattle is expected to apply the franchise tag to Lynch if a deal doesn't get done.