RENTON, Wash. - The Seattle Seahawks released defensive end Chris Clemons on Wednesday, a move that saves significant salary cap room but takes away one of their top pass rushers the past four seasons. The move, first reported by NFL.com and confirmed by Clemons representatives, was not unexpected as Seattle tries to clear the right amount of financial space to make moves in free agency while also trying to work on extensions for safety Earl Thomas and cornerback Richard Sherman. Clemons was set to make $7.5 million in base salary in 2014, the final year of an extension he signed with the Seahawks before the start of the 2012 season. Clemons turned around his career when he arrived in Seattle via trade before the 2010 season and will be regarded as one of the top moves made by general manager John Schneider. After failing to find success in Oakland and Philadelphia, Clemons thrived in Seattle. Placed into the LEO position on the defensive line, Clemons became Seattles top pass rusher for his first three seasons with the Seahawks with a combined 33 1/2 sacks from 2010 to 2012 and at least 11 sacks in each of those seasons. Last season, Clemons had only 4 1/2 sacks as the emergence of Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett and a deeper rotation on the defensive line took away some of Clemons opportunities. Clemons suffered a torn ACL in the 2012 playoffs but worked his way back to where he was on the field by Week 3 of the regular season. He had 3 1/2 sacks his first five games, but had just one sack the final nine games of the regular season. Clemons did have Seattles only sack of Peyton Manning in its Super Bowl blowout victory. With Seattles re-signing of Bennett earlier this week, it seemed only a matter of time before Clemons was released. Clemons, 32, is the fourth defensive player to either be released by the Seahawks or sign with another club in free agency. 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"We cannot stay the same way the whole season long," said Reyes. "This is not acceptable. Something needs to change because were a better team than what were showing right now. Its a long season and we just need to continue to push." Its been a frustrating week for the ballclub.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Step by step, Andrew Luck has climbed into the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks. In each of his three seasons, he and the Indianapolis Colts got one game closer to the Super Bowl. Now he can reach that destination if he beats Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game Sunday night. You can watch the game live on CTV at 6:30pm et/3:30pm pt. I want to beat the best, Luck said. Theres a competitive spirit in all of this: Hey, the harder it is, the better. Lets go try and make it happen. If the Colts (13-5) upset the Patriots (13-4), Luck will have accomplished a difficult feat: beating Peyton Manning and Brady in consecutive games on the way to the Super Bowl. But a win against the 37-year-old Brady, 12 years his senior, wont be a major measuring stick for Lucks progress. Thats not a benchmark, he said. Hes a great role model for any quarterback at any level playing the position, but its a team game. To me, its as simple as that. Luck has piled up impressive statistics since being drafted with the first pick out of Stanford in 2012. This season, he led the NFL with 40 touchdown passes and surpassed Mannings single-season franchise high with 4,761 yards passing. Hes also the only player to throw for at least 250 yards in each of his first five playoff games. In his three seasons, the Colts lost in the wild-card round, then reached the division round and now are playing for the AFC title after Luck threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-13 divisional round win over Denver and Manning. Hes just stayed with the process, Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. Right now he probably feels as good as hes ever felt. And thats not good for the Patriots. He was pretty good when he came in and hes even better now, New England coach Bill Belichick said. Hes got a lot of strengths, no weaknesses. Sounds like Brady. The 15-year veteran will play in his ninth AFC championship game and fourth straight, but the Patriots lost two of the previous three. In last Saturdays 35-31 divisional win over the Baltimore Ravens, Brady led the Patriots back from two 14-point deficits. His three touchdown passes gave him 46 for his career, breaking Joe Montanas record of 45 in the post-season. Weve shown a lot of improvement and it all leads to this moment, Brady said, so weve got to be at our best. Things to watch for as two of the NFLs highest-scoring teams meet: CATCHING ON: When they drop back, Luck and Brady have plenty of reliable receivers to choose from. Luck connected with eight against Denver. And one who didnt catch a pass, Reggie Wayne, needs 36 yards receiving to move past Cliff Branch for No. 3 in NFL postt-season history.dddddddddddd One of the things that I believe has been a reason for our success is the different playmakers that we have and the way that the ball is being spread around, Colts tight end Dwayne Allen said. Brady completed at least four passes to six different receivers against Baltimore, including one touchdown each to Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola and Brandon LaFell, who caught a winning 23-yarder with just over five minutes left. PATRIOTS RUSHING: New England used a powerful ground attack in its last two games against Indianapolis. LeGarrette Blount ran for 166 yards and four touchdowns in a 43-22 divisional win last year, and Jonas Gray rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-20 win Nov. 16. But the Patriots rushed only 13 times for 14 yards against the Ravens, and three of them were kneel-downs by Brady in the last two minutes. We chose not to run the ball more than anything else, offensive co-ordinator Josh McDaniels said. It wasnt like we ran it 20 times and had 35 yards. BOOM TOWN: The last time the teams met, Colts RB Daniel Boom Herron played a season-low one snap. He got his first career start in the next game and has become a dual threat. After rushing for just 74 yards and catching two passes in the first 10 games, hes had 396 yards rushing and 37 receptions. In his two playoff games, hes run for 119 yards and two touchdowns and caught 18 of 19 passes thrown his way. I love it, he said of his post-season performances. Thats what youre here for and thats what Ive dreamed about since Ive been playing football. FOR THE RECORD: Brady needs 10 yards passing for 6,801 in his post-season career, breaking Mannings record. One more post-season win will give Belichick his 21st as a coach, snapping a tie with Tom Landry for the most in NFL history. Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri, who won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and has one ring with the Colts, will break Jerry Rices mark for most post-season games with his 30th. He also can set a record with his 14th consecutive post-season game with a field goal, breaking a tie with Tony Fritsch. CHANGING PLAYERS: Both teams have players in bigger roles than in the regular-season matchup. The Colts are getting greater production from rookie receiver Donte Moncrief, and the offensive line has three different starters. Defensive tackle Arthur Jones is back after missing the first meeting with an ankle injury and kick returner Josh Cribbs joined the team two days after the first game. For the Patriots, defensive end Chandler Jones, Arthurs younger brother, missed it with a hip injury, while Blount joined the Patriots the following week after being cut by Pittsburgh. ' ' '