George-For-Mirer Deal In Works

The unprecedented swap of starting quarterbacks - the Seahawks’ slumping Rick Mirer for the Atlanta Falcons’ suspended Jeff George - has moved well beyond the exploratory stage, all the way to Los Angeles.

Ken Herock, the Falcons’ vice president of player personnel, flew to L.A. Tuesday and met last night with Marvin Demoff, the agent for Mirer. George flew to L.A. Tuesday to meet with his agent, Leigh Steinberg. To complete the needed triangle, Seahawks vice president of football operations Randy Mueller also flew to L.A. Demoff is scheduled to come to Seattle today.

All these frequent-flier miles come amid speculation the deal could happen before the end of the week.

A swap for Mirer, who continues to struggle in his fourth season as the Seahawks’ starter, is Herock’s best offer to date, and he probably will not receive a better one.

The Falcons would like a 300-pound defensive tackle, and had targeted the Raiders’ Chester McGlockton. But he is not for sale. The St. Louis Rams were briefly in the mix, but Herock does not want to trade George to a team in the Falcons’ division, the NFC West.

That leaves Mirer, and a take-it-or-leave-it deal, as Steinberg portrayed it to reporters in Philadelphia Monday night.

So why would the Seahawks want George with all of his baggage?

“Jeff George has the most talent of any quarterback in the league,” said Larry Kennan, quarterbacks coach for Oakland. “I know that’s saying a lot, but I don’t even think it’s close.”

The Seahawks must clear room under their salary cap to accommodate both George’s salary (12/17th of his $3.636 million base) and a $1.7 million hit they would take for having pro-rated portions of bonuses given to Mirer dumped into this season. Also, they need to sign George to an extension, since he took a one-year deal with the Falcons after a lengthy holdout this past summer.