Deon Grant and Brian Russell have had vastly different football careers, which explains why they had such unique travel plans last week.
Grant, a former first-round pick and well-known NFL safety, was summoned to Seattle by way of the team plane.
Russell flew Alaska Airlines.
In the end, both safeties signed with the Seahawks and are part of a revamped Seattle secondary.
“I’m really excited to be a Seahawk,” said Russell, who went undrafted out of San Diego State yet has forged a six-year NFL career, “and when I heard Deon was going to be up there, it made it that much better. I’ve watched Deon play on film, on TV, several times. He’s a talented football player.”
Grant is so talented that the Seahawks gave him a six-year, $30 million contract. Russell’s deal is much cheaper (the exact details are unknown, but Russell will make $10 million in base salary over five years, according to the NFL Players Association). And they share the same agent.
Yet the duo expects to be in the same starting backfield – the Seahawks have not publicly commented about where they fit in – when the 2007 season begins.
“Me and him talked (before Russell signed), and just to see the interest that the guy had, it really made me feel good and it really made me feel real positive about really working with this guy,” Grant said. “I think we’ll make a great combination.”
Grant, who turns 28 today, has played seven seasons with the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Panthers selected him with the 57th overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft.
Russell’s path has been a little less common. A former quarterback at Penn, he transferred to San Diego State and eventually switched positions to improve his pro potential.
Some good that did him, seeing as how Russell didn’t get drafted. But Minnesota saw enough in Russell to bring him to training camp, and he earned a spot on the team’s practice squad. Two years later, he was a starter and intercepted nine passes.
Even that season failed to propel his NFL career. The Vikings offered only a modest contract tender to Russell, who opted instead to sign with Cleveland.
Two years, and 28 starts, later Russell is on his way to Seattle.
“My No. 1 choice (heading into free agency) was Seattle,” Russell said. “A lot of that has to do with how good they are. I’m going into Year 7, and before I’m done I want to get a shot at that ring.”
Grant said he does not prefer either safety position over the other, and it’s still unclear how things will shake down. Last year’s starting free safety, Ken Hamlin, is a free agent and appears likely to move on. Starting strong safety Michael Boulware got benched for several games last season after giving up too many long touchdowns.
That’s an area that Seattle’s new safeties plan to fix.
“I’m a guy who studies a lot; I watch a lot of film,” Russell said. “I pride myself on not giving up a lot of big plays.”
Seahawks add tight end: Free-agent tight end Marcus Pollard, who played with the Detroit Lions last season, signed with Seattle on Tuesday.
Pollard, 35, joins Will Heller, Bennie Joppru and Leonard Stephens at the position. Jerramy Stevens, who was arrested Tuesday in Arizona for DUI, remains unsigned and is testing the free-agent market.
Pollard caught just 12 passes last season after catching 46 the previous year. He came into the league in 1995 as an undrafted free agent. He did not play college football. Pollard was a basketball player at Bradley University, which has no football program.
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