SEAHAWKS NOTEBOOK

Published 11:19 pm Saturday, July 26, 2008

KIRKLAND — While his teammates went through the opening day of training camp practices on Friday, Seattle Seahawks rookie John Carlson was holed up in a Renton apartment watching his new wife and her mother decorate.

“My mother-in-law flew in to help my wife, and she assumed I would be at camp, so she wasn’t too happy to see me,” said Carlson, who married former Notre Dame volleyball player Danielle Herndon two weeks ago. “She wanted me working.”

Carlson could only wait impatiently as his agents tried to work out a deal with the Seahawks.

“I just handed over the credit card,” Carlson said of his role in the apartment decoration, “and hope that (the contract) was getting done so I could pay the bill.”

Late Friday night, a deal got finalized, and Carlson joined his teammates for both of Saturday’s practices. Despite an initial contract impasse, Carlson felt fortunate to miss only one day of training camp.

“It was tough,” he said of not reporting to camp in time. “Being a rookie, I’m not used to the business side of football. I’m glad that part’s behind me.”

The details of Carlson’s contract were not available as of Saturday afternoon. Most of the players selected around the No. 38 pick, where Carlson was selected, got four-year deals. Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis, the No. 48 pick, reportedly signed a four-year contract worth about $3.5 million.

Offensive coordinator Gil Haskell was happy that Carlson, who is challenging for a starting role, did not miss more time.

“That’s major, major, major, major,” Haskell said. “I can’t tell you how important it is to get in on time — for any rookie. If you’re a first pick or second pick, and you miss a week, you might never catch up.”

In his first day back, Carlson reminded the Seahawks why they gave up a third-round pick to move up a few spots in the second round of the April draft and select the big tight end from Notre Dame. He made several receptions during practice, the most impressive of which came when he stabbed a Matt Hasselbeck pass over the middle with his fingertips. Carlson also made a long reception of a Seneca Wallace pass that went for a touchdown.

“He stepped right in today,” Wallace said after Saturday’s morning practice. “He was working hard for his first practice back, and he had some great catches.”

Haskell said that Carlson looked quicker than he had in summer minicamps. But the 24-year-old tight end said he didn’t feel any faster.

“I felt kind of rusty out there at times,” Carlson said. “If anything, I have fresh legs because I just got here. But just understanding the offense a little bit more than I did before, you’re going to be quicker.

“I’m still not where I want to be, or where I need to be, but it’s coming.”

Seneca’s role: For one simple reason, the Seahawks’ long-standing desire to use Wallace as a receiver might finally come to fruition this season.

Coach Mike Holmgren has avoided using Wallace in that capacity — the quarterback has caught just four NFL passes, two of which came in the postseason — because of the Seahawks’ lack of an experienced third-string quarterback. The thinking was that Seattle would have no backup quarterback if Wallace were to get hurt in a game.

Now, with former Cleveland Browns starter Charlie Frye on the roster and up to speed on the offensive system, the Seahawks may well look to give Wallace more roles.

“When asked to do that in a very, very limited thing over the last few years, he’s really performed well,” Holmgren said. “… More than anything, he gives me a little bit of a security blanket. If we got hurt in a game, and I was running out of receivers, I could absolutely put him in the game and he could play. That’s the biggest thing.”

Wallace, who has been catching punts at training camp practices, said he would love the opportunity to get more playing time.

“I hope so,” Wallace said. “I really can’t say, but I hope so. We’re going to see as the season goes on, when Charlie gets a lot of reps and feels comfortable, and hopefully Mike will use me during the season.”

Frye is not expected to push Wallace for the No. 2 quarterback job this year.

Time to hit: After two days of practice in shells, the Seahawks are ready to start taking out some aggression.

The pads go on this morning, meaning the hitting will begin.

“It’s always a little different putting pads on. It’s a little more realistic in the drills,” cornerback Marcus Trufant said. “It’s a part of football: you put the pads on, and you’ve got to hit.”

Said Holmgren: “You have to bang around a little bit and get them used to playing because they haven’t done it in a long time.”

Gray injured: Offensive lineman Chris Gray crumpled to the turf during Saturday’s afternoon practice with an apparent back injury. The status of his was not known as of Saturday night.

Gray has been a starting guard for most of his Seahawks career, but this year he is slated to back up center Chris Spencer.

Quick slants: The Seahawks’ roster includes an offensive lineman named Samuel Gutekunst, a native of Germany who is part of the NFL’s international program. … To make room for Carlson on the active roster, the Seahawks released tight end Zac Alcorn.