RENTON — Louis Rankin may not have impressed scouts enough to hear his name called in the 2008 draft, but he has shown Seahawks coaches enough for Seattle to part ways with a legend in order to take a closer look at the second-year running back.
If Edgerrin James, who the Seahawks released Tuesday, doesn’t find a job with another team — which is a real possibility for the 31-year-old — it will be Rankin, a second-year player from the University of Washington, who helped end James’ career.
The Seahawks added Rankin to their practice squad in late September, then signed him to the active roster last week despite having no intention of playing him against Dallas. That move was likely made to prevent another team from signing Rankin, and now the Seahawks have cleared out space in their running game to give him a chance at his first NFL carries.
Rankin’s exact role has not been decided, but he may fill one similar to what James had, which was to spell starter Julius Jones every so often, offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said. Rankin also is expected to return kicks, something he did with the Huskies and also briefly with Oakland this season.
“What Louis adds is the element of speed,” Seahawks coach Jim Mora said of Rankin. “That man is extremely fast and shifty. And on a daily basis we watch him go out there and give our defense a real test. And so we want to see that.”
But in order to see what Rankin has to offer, James had to go. So just like that, what is probably a Hall of Fame career may have ended with little fanfare this week so the Seahawks can take a look at a second-year, undrafted rookie who played for a 4-9 team his senior year. Consider it another example of the harsh realities of the NFL.
“Very simply in our attempt to get Louis Rankin some plays, a look, to utilize the speed that he has, to see if he has a chance to be a legitimate running back in the National Football League, you have to put someone down,” Mora said. “Edgerrin came in here and did a wonderful job in the locker room. He’s a wonderful person. He’s a pro. He worked his tail off. Unfortunately, the results weren’t what we wanted. Rather than ask Edgerrin James, a man of his stature in this league, to be inactive and be relegated to a position to the scout team during the week, we felt the honorable thing would be to let him go.”
Rankin admits it’s tough to see James go, especially because the 11-year veteran frequently offered advice to Rankin and the younger backs.
“It’s a great opportunity for me, at the same time I know it’s probably tough for Edge,” Rankin said. “I learned a lot from him, he taught me a lot of things. I think I’m ready for this and I think I’m going to take full advantage of this opportunity.”
In addition to releasing James, the Seahawks made several other moves this week. Mora said the release of James, cornerback Travis Fisher and safety C.J. Wallace had nothing to do with what he said Monday when he warned that those players who weren’t on board wouldn’t be Seahawks at the end of the season.
“Three football-related moves,” Mora said. “Three moves we felt like, in one way or another, could make our team better.”
And while the Seahawks hope Rankin can provide a spark in their lackluster run game, the biggest help this week will be having an offensive line that actually has some chemistry from playing together. Sean Locklear is back practicing on a limited basis, but likely won’t be ready to start this week.
“Realistically to have him start and play would be hard to ask of him,” Knapp said. “I don’t think that would be fair to him.”
That would mean the Seahawks will start the same line this week — Damion McIntosh, Rob Sims, Chris Spencer, Max Unger and Ray Willis — as they did last weekend. That would mark the first time since Weeks 1 and 2 that the Seahawks have started the same line in back-to-back games.
Of note
Injury update
Locklear won’t likely start Sunday, but the rest of the roster should be available with the possible exception of backup receiver Ben Obomanu (oblique), who did not practice Wednesday. QB Matt Hasselbeck (ribs) and LB Will Herring (shoulder) were both limited, but are expected to be fine for Sunday’s game.
Marcus Trufant, who was limited in his return to game action last week, will start this weekend at cornerback, Mora said.
Branch explains comment
Deion Branch has been the subject of a lot of talk this week following something he said during Sunday’s loss in Dallas. After catching a touchdown pass in the second quarter, Branch ran to a camera and said, “Y’all come find me. Anybody want me, come find me.”
Branch said that comment has been misconstrued, and that it wasn’t a nationally televised appeal to other NFL teams to sign him should his Seattle career end after this season.
“I just want to win and I want to play, that’s the bottom line …” he said. “I’ve been accepting my role. Trust me, if I wanted to start something I’d have done it in minicamp. That’s not me.”
Branch said he and the Seahawks’ coaches and upper management talked before the season about his role, which would be limited because of the signing of T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
“They told me what my role was and I understood it and I accepted it,” he said. “The way it sounded, I didn’t mean it that way.”
Branch, who has two years left on his contract, said he has no desire to leave Seattle.
“This is where I want to retire,” he said. “I want to finish my career here. Regardless of what it sounded like I said, I want to finish my career here.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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