FanHouse Marcus Trufant

The Seahawks landed arguably the top player in the 2009 draft with the fourth pick, then followed it up by drafting a center/guard who should start soon after the team was willing to trade away its third and fourth-round picks to move up.

But if there was one position of dire need that Seattle didn't address in the draft, it was cornerback, where the team was relying on disappointing former first-round pick Kelly Jennings and Josh Wilson to occupy the spot opposite Marcus Trufant.

But we found out today why the Seahawks weren't that worried about drafting a corner on Sunday--they signed a veteran instead, bringing back Ken Lucas five years after he left to head to Carolina as a free agent. Lucas' signing is the first benefit from the cap room brought about by dumping the franchise tag on Leroy Hill. The Seattle Times is reporting that the 'Hawks added fullback Justin Griffith as well. Griffith fills the hole left when starting fullback Leonard Weaver left to sign a free agent deal with the Eagles.

The last thing the Seattle Seahawks need is another injured starter. But, well, they've got one. Marcus Trufant, their All-Pro cornerback, might (not?) have to miss time with what sounds like a pretty painful hand injury.

Seahawks defensive back suffered a cracked bone in his hand in yesterday's practice and was wearing a cast on his hand today. Mike Holmgren said they are going to try to affix something smaller to his hand for Sunday's game to make it more workable. Trufant said he has played with an injured hand before, against both UCLA and the Apple Cup one season at Washington State, though it was on his right hand not his left and it was his thumb not his hand.

The Hawks Insider also mentioned that Lofa Tatupu is sporting a cast on his finger right now, although he's apparently making plays anyway, intercepting a Charlie Frye pass during practice. So yeah, Seahawks = dinged.

So dinged, in fact, that Seneca Wallace, who will not likely play cornerback, will probably see some time at wide receiver.

"I'm confident," Wallace said. "I've just got to go out there and be able to make sure everything is correct. No busted routes. And after that, you're just out there playing football. You've got to catch the ball."

Well, it all does come back to fundamentals I guess. Still, just the fact that Wallace -- their backup quarterback -- is being pressed into duties is proof my above mathematical equation which clearly shows that this could be a rough week for the Seahawks. Certainly too rough to stake them seven points anyway.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, Fantasy FanHouse is here to preview each and every team. Listen closely, you're almost guaranteed to win your free fantasy football league, only over at Fleaflicker.

Meet The ...
Boys finally freed from the albatross that is Shaun Alexander. I'm guessing Mike Holmgren feels like a gigantic weight has been lifted from his chiseled physique with the departure of the former superstar. A franchise QB will help the offense move forward, along with the freedom to actually play whichever running back runs the hardest.

The Breakout
Just like I said in the Browns preview about Donte' Stallworth, we've been down this road with Nate Burleson before. And just like I said there, I'm ready to gamble again. It's a problem, I know. He did have a breakout season in '04 with the Vikes where he racked up 1006 yards on 68 catches ... nine of which went to paydirt. Since then he hasn't been playing full-time whether injury or being buried on the depth chart was the culprit. Last year he found the end-zone nine times again, and he didn't play near full-time. This year he will, with Deion Branch scheduled to miss some possibly significant time. I expect a baseline of 1000 yards on 75 catches to go with 8 TDs. Anything after that is gravy, considering his current ADP (48th WR).

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, Fantasy FanHouse is here to preview each and every team. Listen closely, you're almost guaranteed to win your free fantasy football league, only over at Fleaflicker.

Meet The ...
Boys finally freed from the albatross that is Shaun Alexander. I'm guessing Mike Holmgren feels like a gigantic weight has been lifted from his chiseled physique with the departure of the former superstar. A franchise QB will help the offense move forward, along with the freedom to actually play whichever running back runs the hardest.

The Breakout
Just like I said in the Browns preview about Donte' Stallworth, we've been down this road with Nate Burleson before. And just like I said there, I'm ready to gamble again. It's a problem, I know. He did have a breakout season in '04 with the Vikes where he racked up 1006 yards on 68 catches ... nine of which went to paydirt. Since then he hasn't been playing full-time whether injury or being buried on the depth chart was the culprit. Last year he found the end-zone nine times again, and he didn't play near full-time. This year he will, with Deion Branch scheduled to miss some possibly significant time. I expect a baseline of 1000 yards on 75 catches to go with 8 TDs. Anything after that is gravy, considering his current ADP (48th WR).

The Seattle Seahawks have signed cornerback Marcus Trufant to a six-year, $50 million contract, locking up their 27-year-old shutdown corner for the prime of his career.

The deal includes $20 million in guaranteed money, $28 million over the first three years and $34 million over the first four. As a practical matter, Trufant is virtually guaranteed to make the $28 million over the first three years, before his 30th birthday.

The Seahawks had placed the franchise tag on Trufant. There have now been two franchise players who have signed long-term deals, Trufant and the Colts' Dallas Clark, and two more who have signed their franchise tenders, the Bengals' Stacy Andrews and the Panthers' Jordan Gross.

This is the Seahawks' second big move to bolster their defense for the long term this week, after signing linebacker Lofa Tatupu to a six-year, $40 million extension. The next Seattle coach, Jim Mora, knows who the corps players in his defense will be for the forseeable future.

So far in free agency, the Patriots have lost Asante Samuel, a top-5 NFL cornerback, and nickel back Randall Gay. The also let safety Eugene Wilson walk, and need to find a replacement for 35-year-old Rodney Harrison. So what does New England do? Well, to date, they've signed Jason Webster, Tank Williams and Lewis Sanders to help fill that gaping hole in the secondary.

I fully expect one -- or all -- of these stiffs to not be on the opening-day roster, but in the meantime they help fill out the depth chart.

More to the point, though, is the Patriots' glaring need in the defensive backfield. (Yes, there are also issues at linebacker, but having Ellis Hobbs as your shutdown corner trumps the possibility of fossils Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau returning for one more season.)

New England couldn't fix the problems in free agency since the Seahawks and Raiders franchised the two best available options, Marcus Trufant and Nnandi Asomugha, and Samuel was set to walk unless he got "Nate Clements money." (I suppose you can make a case that the Patriots actually exacerbated the problem by signing Webster, Williams and Sanders, but like I said, there's no way all three guys are around when the season starts. If they are, well, the Patriots will definitely need to average 50 points a game because their defense will be, to put it kindly, a liability.)

It's only been a few short weeks since the New York Giants upset the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, but for General Manager Jerry Reese, party time is over. When the NFL trading period begins next Friday, he wants to be ready to make a splash.

In addition to the Atlanta Falcons DeAngelo Hall, Reese also appears to have his eye on recently franchised Seattle Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant.

Although the franchise tag means the Seahawks have almost exclusive negotiating rights with Trufant, it will not prevent them from entertaining trade offers.

Trufant finished the 2007 with 85 tackles, 15 passes defended and a career-high seven interceptions. He was also voted to his very first Pro Bowl.

As a franchise player, Trufant's one-year contract would be worth a little over $9.4 million.

The Seattle Seahawks' season will continue for at least another week and the Washington Redskins' season is over, and the single most important player for the Seahawks in their victory over the Redskins was cornerback Marcus Trufant.

Trufant (aided greatly by Seattle's pass rush) kept Redskins receiver Santana Moss in check, and he sealed the win for the Seahawks when he out-hustled Moss for a Todd Collins pass, intercepted it and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown. That gave Seattle a 28-14 lead with 5:38 remaining; a Jordan Babineaux interception return touchdown made the final score 35-14.

Trufant has been one of the best defensive backs in the NFL this year, and he's doing it at the right time, as he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season. Games like this are why he's about to get very rich.