S Alexander

Hawks willing to trade Alexander

By José Miguel Romero

Seattle Times staff reporter

Seahawks



ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck, right, huddle before Seattle's playoff loss to the St. Louis Rams in January. Alexander might not be back next season.


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KIRKLAND — It seems that the price to acquire Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander has gone down.

The Seahawks have told the agents who represent Alexander, the team's franchise player, that they would consider taking less than a first-round pick from a team seeking to trade for him.

The Seahawks say they are interested in making any move that makes the team better — including a trade of Alexander.

The franchise running back does not figure to sign the one-year tender of $6.32 million any time soon and could miss all offseason workouts.

Alexander's representatives, Mark Heligman and Jim Steiner, are still open to working out a long-term contract with the Seahawks. But the sides have not had serious negotiations.

The agents are exploring trade possibilities with other teams and have discussed such opportunities with Seattle.

Those teams could include the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who all have questions at running back.

Arizona could be the best option. The Cardinals have the eighth overall pick in the draft next month and might go after a running back to replace Emmitt Smith. But they have the most salary-cap room of the aforementioned teams — a situation that is amenable to a long-term deal. The team that trades for Alexander would need to have such a contract in place.

Carolina has had injury problems at running back. Stephen Davis had microfracture surgery on his right knee last season, and DeShaun Foster suffered a broken collarbone.

After signing quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and left tackle Walter Jones to big contracts last month, Seattle's best option was to give Alexander the franchise tag, which severely limits his options in free agency but gives the Seahawks trade flexibility.

If no trade materializes, the Seahawks could — as a last resort — rescind the franchise tender, which would immediately make Alexander an unrestricted free agent and credit the team's salary cap.

But the team presumably would like something of value in exchange for the 2004 NFC rushing leader.

 

moon

 

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