RENTON — The rebuilding of the Seahawks under Pete Carroll and John Schneider has been thorough, and as has been evident over the past week, the process does not leave room for nostalgia.
The Seahawks released linebacker Lofa Tatupu on Sunday, parting ways with a three-time Pro Bowler who w
as the heart and soul of the defense for six seasons. Less than a week earlier, Seattle opted to move forward without longtime quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, instead choosing to sign Tarvaris Jackson.
Carroll described Tatupu’s release as a “mutual agreement” but the reality was that it was the type of business decision that goes on often in sports, particularly in the cutthroat world of the NFL. The Seahawks wanted to restructure Tatupu’s contract, which ran through 2015 and was set to pay him $4.35 million in 2011. Tatupu, 28, didn’t agree to the pay cut the Seahawks proposed, which led to his release.
“We really feel comfortable with saying that it was a mutual agreement of how to deal with what’s up with his career and our situation and all of that,” Carroll said. “This is a professional sport, it’s always business, there’s always business involved in every decision that you make. There is no decision in personnel that isn’t affected one way or the other in that regard.”
Tatupu was one of the league’s top middle linebackers early in his career, helping the Seahawks to the Super Bowl as a rookie in what was the first of three consecutive Pro-Bowl seasons. But his production fell off in 2008, in part because of a broken thumb and a lingering knee injury that didn’t keep him off the field, but limited his effectiveness. Tatupu missed 11 games in 2009, 10 of which were the result of a torn pectoral muscle. He started every game last season, a testament to his toughness, but by the end of the year he rarely practiced and ended up needing surgery on both knees in the offseason. Given all of that, the Seahawks decided Tatupu wasn’t worth keeping at his current price.
“Lofa’s been a really, really special player for Seattle,” said linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. “You see a lot of 51 jerseys in the stands. The things he’s done for the team, it’s amazing what he’s been able to give to us. The way it went down, we mutually agreed to move on, and he understands it’s business.”
This move, like so many others made in the year and a half Carroll and Schneider have been in charge, is a reminder that building a winning team takes precedence over loyalty. They’re well aware what Hasselbeck and Tatupu both mean to the area. Carroll and Norton both coached Tatupu at USC, they know his family, they like the guy.
“I’ve known Lofa since he was a young kid when (his father) Mosi brought him to SC years and years ago, and I’ve loved him ever sense,” Carroll said. “He’s a great kid and a great guy and an unbelievable competitor. We came to an understanding that this is a good thing, so on we go. We keep moving, and we wish him the very best.”
While the loss of players such as Hasselbeck and Tatupu stand out the most, the fact is that the roster churn goes much deeper than a few star players. Of the 88 players currently on Seattle’s training camp roster, just 16 were on the team Carroll and Schneider inherited. Sixteen. That’s it. And with Tatupu gone, just two players — Leroy Hill and Marcus Trufant — remain from the 2005 team that went to the Super Bowl.
One reason the Seahawks felt comfortable playing contractual chicken with Tatupu is the emergence of David Hawthorne over the past two seasons. Hawthorne, who Seattle signed as an undrafted free agent in 2008, started 11 games for an injured Tatupu in 2009 and led the team in tackles. He moved to weakside linebacker last year and again led the Seahawks in tackles. Sunday was a day of mixed emotions for Hawthorne. On one hand, he lost a mentor and friend.
“He meant a lot, for me especially because I came in undrafted and he kind of took me under his wing and taught me a lot,” Hawthorne said. “So today was a hard day for the linebackers.”
On the other hand, Carroll was willing to part ways with a three-time Pro Bowler because he is comfortable with Hawthorne taking his job. That’s a pretty solid endorsement.
“That’s a good sign that they believe in me enough to make that big of a business decision,” he said. “I feel like I’m obligated to make sure that was the right decision.”
With Hawthorne moving back to middle linebacker, Leroy Hill becomes the front-runner to win the spot at weakside linebacker, Carroll said, though rookie Malcolm Smith, a seventh-round pick out of USC, will also get a shot, and has the benefit of knowing the defense — and coach Norton — well. Hill was Seattle’s starting weakside linebacker from 2005-2009, then missed every game but one last season with an Achilles’ injury.
Seahawks to add Sims
The Seahawks have agreed to terms with former Kansas City and Tampa Bay defensive tackle Ryan Sims. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2002 draft, Sims started all 16 games in 2009 for the Bucs, but lost his starting job last season and was released in November.
It remains to be seen how exactly the 31-year-old Sims fits into the Seahawks’ plans, but defensive-line depth was a need coming into free agency for Seattle. Sims should be able to learn the defense quickly, as defensive coordinator Gus Bradley spent three years in Tampa prior to coming to Seattle, and brought a similar defense to the Seahawks.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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