FanHouse MarcusTrufant

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 word through the Giants' tear through the postseason was that they were proving an old adage true -- you don't need a great secondary if you've got a great pass rush. Not even the Giants themselves believe that.

With their top two free agency targets, Marcus Trufant and Nnamdi Asomugha, franchised, the Giants are targeting a trade with the Falcons for disgruntled DeAngelo Hall. There is, of course, one more top tier free agent corner -- Asante Samuel -- but the Giants would rather give up compensation for Hall, as they feel Samuel is a player "whose success is more the product of New England's defensive system than his own ability." Ouch.

The Giants would be sending their first-rounder (technically the 32nd pick, though actually the 31st thanks to Spygate). It's a deal that works for both sides -- Hall is overrated, but he's still a very young corner with a lot of experience, potential, and incredible athleticism. And there's always the motivation factor going from a disaster to a winner (see: Randy Moss).

The Falcons remove a tumor and add another first round pick to infuse their talentless roster with talent. The Falcons are shopping for a better offer at the Combine, but I can't see another team offering more. We might have to wait awhile before seeing Hall blow up on Steve Smith again.

Teams don't just let great young corners walk away in free agency, so the Seahawks absolutely had to place the franchise tag on Marcus Trufant, one of the top three free agent cornerbacks this year. But the cost of retaining Trufant might extend beyond the hefty-as-is $9.5 million one-year deal franchised corners are getting this year (Trufant might want to break a piece of that deal off for Jim Mora, Jr., by the way).

The move places the Seahawks at right about the cap limit. But he wasn't their only important free agent; as a matter of fact, there are three more -- right tackle Sean Locklear, receiver D.J. Hackett, and kicker Josh Brown.

Not to say any of those three guys is as valuable individually as Trufant and, again, young Pro Bowl corners aren't easy to find. But as a collective that's a lot of talent to let walk away. Hackett is a young, emerging receiver with great size and hands. Locklear isn't a spectacular player, but he did start all 16 games last year on a team that has no depth behind him. And Brown, the Seahawks' franchised player last year, has proven to be one of the best kickers in the league despite the conditions he plays in.

The Seahawks could still negotiate a long-term deal with Trufant that frees up room to keep one or more of those guys. And even if not, it'll be easier to replace them than Trufant -- who they had no choice but to keep. But in a league where depth is so critical, the Seahawks are forced into a bad position with theirs.

Update: The Seahawks signed Locklear to a five-year extension, and, for some more detailed information on their salary cap situation, read commentor Peter's post below.

In a sorta-surprising development out of Philadelphia, both ESPN and the NFL Network are reporting that the Eagles have told corner Lito Sheppard that he can go ahead and begin feeling around the league for trade offers.

I say surprising because it's not often that teams are willing to get rid of a 26-year-old, two-time Pro Bowl corner. Guys like that don't exactly grow on trees. I say not surprising because Sheppard is looking to re-do the eight-year, $37 million contract he signed in 2004, and if your name isn't Donovan McNabb or Brian Westbrook, the Eagles aren't opening the wallet. Especially when you've missed 15 games in four seasons.

That being said, Sheppard should find a pretty active market. The pool of top-tier corners will only be one or two deep, depending on Marcus Trufant. Whoever is willing to pay for Sheppard will have to give up compensation and then sign him to a new deal, but the contract should still pale in comparison to the $100 million Asante Samuel is expected to get and, if healthy, the production will be at least comparable.

Sheppard's only question mark is his durability, but it's not often you can get a proven star at a premium position. There should be a number of teams willing to take that gamble.

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.