KIRKLAND – The much-anticipated return of Steve Hutchinson will have to go without many comments from the man who stands at the center of attention.
On the same day that the Minnesota Vikings’ public relations department informed the Seahawks that Hutchinson would not be available for any interviews with Seattle-area media, the Pro Bowl guard stood in front of Minnesota reporters and dodged most of the questions about Sunday’s return.
“I’m not going to talk about me at all,” he told reporters from the Twin Cities on Monday as his team prepared for Sunday’s game at Qwest Field. “It’s this team going to Seattle, trying to be 4-2 after this week.
“Obviously, I know these guys and those coaches on the team. I played there for five years. That’s about the extent of what I’m going to say about myself.”
Hutchinson made a controversial departure from Seattle last March after spending his first five NFL seasons with the Seahawks.
Hutchinson was named the Seahawks’ transition player in February, then signed a seven-year, $49 million offer sheet with the Vikings. Seattle couldn’t match the offer because of several stipulations that were later referred to as “poison pills,” the most notable of which was a loophole that would guarantee Hutchinson the entire sum of the contract if he was not the highest-paid linemen on his given team.
By matching the offer, the Seahawks would have had to pay Hutchinson all $49 million up front because they had already given a $52-million contract to left tackle Walter Jones.
In August, Hutchinson told Fox Sports: “I’ll always keep my friendships with a lot of guys there (in Seattle), but I could never understand what their management was thinking.”
On Monday, Hutchinson didn’t back down.
“My quotes haven’t changed since spring,” he told reporters in Minnesota. Then he added: “You’re not going to get anything out of me. It’s another game. We’ve got 10 more after it.”
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren has been critical of the way the entire situation was handled, and he didn’t back down Monday.
Holmgren said “poison pill” contract stipulations are bad for the game, and he added that the team erred by not putting the franchise tag on Hutchinson.
“Obviously, we didn’t want to lose Steve,” said Holmgren, whose team will host Hutchinson and the Vikings on Sunday. “If we knew then what we know now, sure we would have done it differently.”
The transition tag meant that Hutchinson could negotiate with other teams, but that the Seahawks would have a chance to match any offer. While the team would have liked to have matched the Minnesota offer, the stipulations made that impossible.
“There are loopholes, and you have smart guys figuring out how to do things, and you can always find a way to do something, but to me that’s against the spirit of the rule,” Holmgren said of the so-called “poison pills” in Hutchinson’s contract. “I know, on the field, there are unwritten rules that the players use, that we as coaches use with one another. And that’s what I see that as.
“I would hope that it wouldn’t happen again – to anybody. Not (just) us, but anybody. I don’t think it’s part of the deal.”
Hutchinson’s ex-teammates don’t seem to be holding much of a grudge about the way he left town.
“Him and his agent (Tom Condon) did what was best for him,” left tackle Walter Jones said. “He got the deal that he wanted.”
Jones is excited to see his former teammate, but he also has a warning for Hutchinson.
“It’s going to be nice to see how he handles the crowd noise,” Jones said. “He’s on the other side now. Now the crowd’s going to be against him.”
Engram out another week: Holmgren said that wide receiver Bobby Engram is likely to miss Sunday’s game against Minnesota because he’s still recovering from a thyroid issue.
But the Oct. 29 game at Kansas City the following week could be a realistic return date.
“He is responding well to the medicine they’re giving him,” Holmgren said. “It’s a little too soon to tell (when Engram will return), but I think it’s going to be sooner rather than later.”
Tight end Jerramy Stevens, on the other hand, should practice this week and be available for the game. Stevens practiced for the first time last week following two knee surgeries, but he was held out of the St. Louis game at the 11th hour.
“I thought he was going to be able to play” against the Rams, Holmgren said. “But Saturday night, it didn’t feel well for him, and so we held him out.”
Quick slants: Sunday’s win over the Rams will be replayed in a 90-minute format tonight at 7:30 p.m. on NFL Network. … Matt Hasselbeck’s strong game Sunday helped propel him from 23rd in the NFL in passing to 17th. Hasselbeck’s rating went from 74.5 to 82.3 after completing 19 of 34 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns in the win over St. Louis. … Seattle’s offense, which featured the NFL’s top rusher and the NFC’s top passer last season, has no skill players ranked among the league’s top 10 in passing, rushing or receiving this season. Darrell Jackson is 11th in receiving (26), while Hasselbeck ranks 17th in passing and injured Shaun Alexander is 38th in rushing (187).
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