In actuality, the Seahawks’ draft began not Saturday, but as long as a month ago.
Center-guard Chris Spencer of Mississippi will get the majority of the hoo-hah as Seattle’s first-round draft choice, but the free agent signings of Joe Jurevicius March 25 and Jerome Pathon on Thursday were a good indication of new team president Tim Ruskell’s evaluation of the state of the team’s wide receivers.
Specifically, one Koren Robinson.
In Pathon, the Seahawks picked up a proven deep threat. In Jurevicius, they plucked a possession receiver, and a good one. So now, the team has 11 receivers on the roster and figures to keep no more than six.
The rundown: Pathon, Jurevicius, Robinson, Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram, Jason Willis, Jerheme Urban, Taco Wallace, D.J. Hackett, Alex Bannister and Marque Davis.
At the very least, the free-agent signings serve as a contingency plan should the Seahawks decide that Robinson, a talented but chronic problem child who last season served a four-week suspension for a third violation of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.
What it should mean to Robinson is that this is the season that he comes closer to realizing his own prodigious potential, to quit stumbling over himself and makes the necessary changes in his life, or that his days in Seattle may be numbered.
A four-year veteran, Robinson’s maturity and decision-making have been a reason for those close to him to yank out their own follicles since he was the Seahawks’ first-round draft choice in 2001 out of North Carolina State. In that respect, Robinson has not disappointed. In addition to the dropped passes that have plagued both himself and his teammates, Robinson has made a habit of being late for team meetings and has been unable to get his own priorities straight.
In March 2003, Robinson was arrested in Durham, N.C., after refusing to leave the street outside a nightclub. Police said several people, including Robinson, became unruly.
A little more than a year later came the suspension.
Robinson was thought to have had a breakout season in 2002, with 78 catches for 1,240 yards and five touchdowns. His numbers, however, have slipped since. He has had just two 100-yard outings since 2002. Before last season’s suspension, coach Mike Holmgren benched Robinson for one game for his sub-par play.
Many coaches would have dumped Robinson before this, but Holmgren has shown a soft spot for him and apparently still believes Robinson can be a major playmaking threat.
His last chance likely is here. To his credit, he has undergone counseling, whether it is for substance abuse, which the NFL requires, anyway, or something else – perhaps even emotional therapy.
Robinson’s case is unlike the ones that faced the Seahawks in linebackers Anthony Simmons and Chad Brown. Both Brown and Simmons had an extensive series of injuries. Brown refused the team’s demands of a steep a pay cut, while Simmons played just seven games each in 2002 and 2004, 13 in 2003, because of injuries.
Therefore, free-agent linebacker Jamie Sharper’s acquisition was critical because of his durability. He has started 127 of 128 career games.
What remains is the question of tailback Shaun Alexander. He clearly doesn’t want to be in Seattle and has said that he will not show up for training camp unless his contract undergoes major surgery.
That means Alexander further alienates his teammates and coaches, he won’t be physically ready, optimistically, until three weeks into the season and he will be more susceptible to injury up to that time.
Speculation is a trade with Buffalo for Travis Henry, 26, who wants out because Willis McGahee emerged as a starter last season.
The Seahawks almost certainly would prefer an established runner in exchange for Alexander. Backup Maurice Morris, while showing flashes, never has carried the ball more than 38 times a season since the Seahawks drafted him in 2002.
Seattle’s “draft” began a month early and the tinkering doesn’t figure to end for some time.
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