Marcus Trufant signs with Jaguars

After 10 seasons with the Seahawks, Marcus Trufant’s time in Seattle officially came to an end when the cornerback signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars Tuesday.

Trufant, who came to Seattle as a first-round pick in 2003, was an unrestricted free agent, and considering that the Seahawks added Antoine Winfield to its secondary to play the nickel corner role that Trufant occupied last season, it had been assumed for a while that Trufant’s tenure with the Seahawks had come to an end.

Trufant, a Tacoma native who played at Washington State, will go to Jacksonville knowing the defense and the team’s head coach Gus Bradley, who spent the past four seasons as Seattle’s defensive coordinator. A Pro Bowler in 2007, Trufant was a starter for almost his entire career in Seattle, but had his role reduced because the emergence of Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner. In Jacksonville, he will be going through a rebuilding project with the Jags, and hopes to be a veteran leader in what will be a young locker room, a role he knows well having been one of the few experienced players in a young secondary over the past two years.

“I just finished my 10th year, so I’m able to bring some wisdom to the table,” Trufant told Jaguars.com. “At the same time, I’m here to compete, to try to help the team wherever I can.”

Trufant, 32, was one of only two players remaining from Seattle’s Super Bowl team on last year’s roster, and linebacker Leroy Hill, who was a rookie during that 2005 season, is also a free agent and remains unsigned. Unless Hill re-signs with the Seahawks, which is highly unlikely at this point, Brandon Mebane, who was drafted in 2007, will be the Seahawks’ longest-tenured player.

If Trufant earns a job with the Jaguars, there’s a good shot that there will be three Trufant brothers in the NFL next season. Younger brother Isaiah spent the past two seasons with the Jets, and Desmond, the youngest of the three, was drafted in the first round by Atlanta last month.