Delayed by nearly a week and devoid of the league’s most valuable player, the NFL free agent signing period officially begins at 9:01 p.m. PST Friday.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
The Seattle Seahawks have already gotten off to a bit of a head start, having locked up running back Shaun Alexander to an eight-year deal and naming Pro Bowl offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson their transition player.
But the Seahawks’ work is far from done. A trip to the Super Bowl means Seattle can expect its players to get plenty of attention, and the main objective is to bring most of them back.
“You want to keep your core together,” team president Tim Ruskell said earlier this week. “Are we going to lose players over the years? Sure, we are. But you have to make the smart decisions, and you have to make the tough decisions.”
One Seahawks player who has already reportedly received interest is safety Marquand Manuel. One report based out of Milwaukee predicted that Manuel could sign a five-year, $10 million deal with the Green Bay Packers in the coming days. Manuel started 11 games for the Seahawks last season while filling in for injured free safety Ken Hamlin.
Manuel is one of 14 unrestricted free agents from the NFC champion Seahawks. The Seahawks hope to re-sign most of them while possibly adding veterans in the defensive secondary.
With Alexander signed and Hutchinson in a position where Seattle has the right to match any offer, the most attractive free agent may well be defensive tackle Rocky Bernard. The 26-year-old had a career-high 8 sacks last season and should get a lot of attention on the open market.
Wide receiver Joe Jurevicius could also get some attention, but he was a free agent this time last year and ended up signing for the veterans’ minimum after receiving very few phone calls.
Pro Bowl fullback Mack Strong is another big name who probably won’t command too much money because of his age (34), thereby putting the Seahawks in a good position to re-sign him.
Other unrestricted free agents include cornerback Andre Dyson, who was released last week, linebacker Kevin Bentley, tight end Ryan Hannam, backup running back Maurice Morris, defensive end Joe Tafoya and punt returner Peter Warrick.
The Seahawks expect to have plenty of available money under the salary cap, so they can also add a few pieces from a free-agent market with plenty of big names.
The cornerback position, which may encompass Seattle’s biggest need, has plenty of depth in terms of experienced veterans. Charles Woodson, Ty Law and Sam Madison are among the available players.
Safety also has some options, should Seattle need to replace Manuel. (The team still hasn’t announced whether Hamlin will be cleared to play next season.) Buffalo released University of Washington product Lawyer Milloy last week, but the crop of available safeties is pretty thin after that.
“When you make a Super Bowl run, there’s a feel-good in the city and a feel-good nationally about our football team,” Ruskell said. “This is the place to be.”
Extra point: According to the News Tribune, Shaun Alexander’s new eight-year contract with the Seahawks is for $61,687,500. The deal includes base salaries of $1.625 million (2006), $1.4 million (2007), $4.475 million (2008), $5.562 million (2009), $6.65 million (2010), $7.7375 million (2011), $8.825 million (2012) and $9.9125 million (2013). Alexander will receive an $11.5 million signing bonus, plus $2 million bonuses in 2006 and 2007 if he is on the roster. The deal counts $6.5 million against the salary cap this year and $6.275 million in 2007.
Remaining cap figures can be calculated by adding $2.875 million to each base salary after 2007.
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