Shaun Alexander will indeed be following the large footsteps of Walter Jones later this week.
Literally, not figuratively.
Rather than pull a Jones-like disappearing act at training camp, the Pro Bowl running back is expected to join the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday after reaching an agreement with the team.
Team officials confirmed that Alexander signed his one-year, $6.323 million franchise tender on Tuesday afternoon after being promised that the team will not franchise him again. That means that Alexander will play the 2005 season with Seattle and become an unrestricted free agent again next spring. Until then, the Seahawks have exclusive negotiating rights on a possible long-term deal.
“We’re excited to have Shaun in the fold,” team president Tim Ruskell said. “This is good for the team and I look forward to seeing him on the field Friday.”
In addition to the promise of not franchising Alexander next year, the team gave him the right to nix any possible trade over the next year.
Alexander originally balked at the prospect of signing the tender, saying publicly that he would only play for Seattle if he was signed to a long-term deal. There was no immediate word as to why he changed his mind, but his only other viable option would have been to skip training camp and, possibly, the regular season. The Seahawks tried to trade Alexander, but there were no takers due to a shortage of need for starting running backs.
The addition of Alexander answers Seattle’s most pressing need. Backups Maurice Morris and Kerry Carter are still unproven as every-down running backs. Morris and Carter split time with the No. 1 offense during offseason minicamps, which Alexander did not attend.
Alexander is coming off a career year, having rushed for 1,696 yards and scored 20 touchdowns in 2004. He was one yard shy of the NFL rushing title, which he could realistically have won had he been given the ball at the Atlanta 1-yard line in the regular season finale. Instead, the Seahawks ran a quarterback sneak, leading to Alexander’s well-publicized, post-game outburst.
That was the beginning of a seven-month-long impasse that tainted the star runner’s reputation with the team and fans. Scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in March, Alexander was open to the idea of joining a new team before Seattle slapped the franchise tag on him days before the start of free agency. He was shopped around the league in the ensuing months but eventually ran out of options.
All summer, Alexander has kept a low profile. He’s had several conversations with team officials but has generally been unwilling to talk publicly about the situation.
Seahawks officials have essentially thrown up their hands when asked about Alexander’s status all offseason, saying that league rules forbid them from negotiating a long-term contract until the franchise tender was signed.
Just Monday afternoon, Ruskell talked about the possibility of “beefing up” the running back position if Alexander was not at camp. But in the same interview, which came in response to a fan’s question on the team Web site, Ruskell was quoted as saying: “I don’t anticipate a problem in terms of Shaun not being here.”
The 2005 season could be another record-breaking one for Alexander. He needs 769 rushing yards to tie Chris Warren’s franchise record for career rushing yards (6,706) and two 100-yard rushing games to tie Warren’s team record of 24. Alexander already holds franchise records for career rushing touchdowns (62), rushing yards in a season (1,696), touchdowns in a season (20), rushing attempts in a season (353), rushing yards in a game (278) and touchdowns in a game (five).
Alexander will be 28 years old when the regular season opens on Sept. 8. He is expected to be on the field when training camp practices begin Friday morning.
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