KIRKLAND — A funny thing happened to Shawn Springs on his way to greener pastures.
Less than four months away from his first experience in free agency, and eight months after asking for a trade, Springs finds himself smack in the middle of a winning organization.
Perhaps irony is too strong a term, but the situation Springs fell into lately is at least a cruel coincidence.
After six seasons of largely forgettable experiences in Seattle, Springs has the best seat in the house for what has been one of the most surprising acts in the NFL this season. A shoulder injury is expected to sideline him until November, yet Springs can’t help but get caught up in the excitement of the Seahawks’ 3-0 start.
"I’m still a part of it," he said. "Right now I’m on the sideline, but I’m doing some coaching and doing what I have to do."
His view is hardly without precedent. Every winning team has injured players who have been forced to watch success from the sidelines, with two notable recent examples being the St. Louis Rams’ Trent Green in 1999 and New England’s Drew Bledsoe in 2001.
The Seahawks had their own such case in receiver Joey Galloway, who missed Seattle’s 6-2 start in 1999 because of a contract holdout. (Galloway and the Seahawks improved to 8-2 before falling back to earth with a 1-5 finish.)
Springs has a similar feeling while watching his team roll on without him: nine parts enthusiasm mixed with one part frustration.
"When you’re out, you’re here but you’re not really here," said teammate John Randle, recalling how he felt when missing the first four games of 2002. "You feel a little out of place. It’s almost like being in a foreign country. People are laughing about something, and you’re like, what are they saying?"
Of course, Springs is in a much better situation than the one involving Randle. By the time Randle returned last year, Seattle had already lost three of its first four games and had essentially thrown dirt on its chances of being a playoff contender.
This year, the playoffs seem like a realistic goal — even for a team that has been there just once in Springs’ tenure.
"It’s encouraging to know that when I get back, I might have missed five games early in the year, but I might get three more on the back end," Springs said, referring to a possible trip to the postseason.
While he is careful not to put too much credence in the team’s fast start, Springs realizes just what a rarity it is for a Seahawks organization that had a 47-50 record in his first six years (including an 0-1 mark in playoff games).
Springs always has liked the city, hasn’t openly complained about the organization, yet realized during the offseason that a change of scenery might have been the best thing for everyone involved.
Although he made a weak attempt to deny it last summer, Springs reportedly approached the team shortly after the 2002 season and asked to be traded. A meeting with new defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes convinced him to stick around for one more year, but the team’s decision to draft cornerback Marcus Trufant with the 11th overall selection in the draft signaled that the Seahawks expect him to swim the free agent waters next March.
Despite his inactivity, Springs isn’t thinking that far ahead. He’s more concerned with the team continuing its run atop the NFC West, where he expects the Seahawks to be when he returns from an injury suffered in the preseason finale.
"I’m playing it low-key, because if you’re used to winning, that’s how you act," he said. "This is what I expect. We’ve got good players and the best coaching staff in the league, so this is what we should be doing."
Springs has stayed connected to the team despite the fact that his injury is expected to keep him out a total of eight weeks. He consults a play card at practices and often helps out younger teammates like Trufant and 24-year-old cornerback Ken Lucas.
"He’d be doing the same thing if he was playing," safety Reggie Tongue said of Springs. "He’s talking to Marcus, to Ken, to me, everybody. He’s just doing it from the sideline now instead of from the field.
"He is a part of this, and he always will be," Tongue added. "Whether he is playing or not, he’s a big reason why we’re playing this well."
Springs just hopes the excitement the team has created will still be around when he gets back.
"I was here when we went 8-2 (in 1999), so I know the Seahawks fans are fair-weather," he said with a laugh. "So I try not to get too excited."
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