RENTON — Alex Barron spent the first five years of his career in St. Louis. In March, searching for a team, he visited the San Francisco 49ers, and finally last weekend, he found himself in a Seahawks uniform for a tryout.
Barron, a former first-round pick who played at Florida State, hoped that his NFC West tour would come to and end at that Seahawks minicamp, and for now anyway, it has. Barron and three other players who tried out last weekend have agreed to terms on contracts with Seattle.
“I haven’t gone to Arizona and I don’t plan on going to Arizona,” Barron said. “I’d be fine being home right here.”
A contract in May is hardly a guarantee of a job come September, but it as least a step in the right direction for Barron, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. The No. 19 pick in the 2005 draft, Barron was a starter, mostly at right tackle, for five seasons in St. Louis, but never lived up to the expectations that came with his draft status. He was traded to Dallas in 2010, but started only one game for the Cowboys. Barron signed with New Orleans last year, but landed on injured reserve before the season started.
All of that explains how a former first-round pick and NFL starter found himself on list of tryout players who were several years his junior and primarily undrafted players with little or no NFL experience.
“That’s just kind of how it is right now, where I’m at in my career,” he said.
Barron could provide depth for the Seahawks at tackle as James Carpenter continues his comeback from a knee injury.
“Alex has got a lot of talent — that’s why he was a number one draft pick,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He just hasn’t been able to get settled in yet. So we’ll see what happens.”
In addition to Barron, the Seahawks also agreed to terms with tight end Cooper Helfet, cornerback Donny Lisowski and tackle Andrew Mitchell. Helfet, who went undrafted out of Duke, was one of Russell Wilson’s favorite targets during the weekend’s minicamp. Lisowski, who played at Seattle’s O’Dea High School and the University of Montana, had multiple interceptions over the weekend and caught Carroll’s attention.
“I like Donny Lisowski,” Carroll said. “He was all over the place out here. … He ran extremely fast when he showed up for a workout day and then he went out here and made a bunch of plays. So I was really fired up about him. I think he’ll surprise you. I’m anxious to see what he can do on special teams and all kinds of stuff. He’s a playmaker and was all over the field.”
To make room on the 90-man roster, the Seahawks released cornerback London Durham, linebacker Adrian Moten, tackle Jon Opperud and guard/center Brent Osborne.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.
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