It could be a last hurrah

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Take a good look.

When the Seattle Seahawks offense lines up on the Giants Stadium turf this afternoon, look at some of the names and numbers. Remember them, take them all in.

Because by the 2005 season opener, many could be gone.

As many as nine of the Seahawks’ 11 offensive starters have questionable futures. Seven are impending free agents, and another two – 42-year-old receiver Jerry Rice and 33-year-old fullback Mack Strong – might be toying with the idea of retirement.

Only Steve Hutchinson and Darrell Jackson know they’ll be back next year.

So take a long, hard look at what the Seahawks have been.

For the past four years, since quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and Hutchinson joined the team and running back Shaun Alexander took over as full-time starter in 2001, the Seahawks have been building toward the upcoming stretch of games. The way many of the contracts have worked out, everything was geared toward the end of the 2004 season, coach Mike Holmgren’s sixth with the team.

And soon it could come to an end.

“You try not to think about it,” said Hutchinson, who has one more year on the five-year contract he signed.

“You figure they’ll do something in the off-season to keep the majority of us together. We’ve got a pretty good unit, I think one of the top units in the league.

“It’ll be interesting, but you can’t really worry about that now.”

Hutchinson, who went to his first Pro Bowl last February, is the only offensive lineman that will be in today’s starting lineup that is under contract for the 2005 season. Also wondering what their futures hold are Hasselbeck and Alexander, the two most high-profile stars on Seattle’s offense.

A total of 16 Seahawks will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, including 12 full-time starters or key reserves. Seven starters are on offense, while up-and-coming cornerback Ken Lucas, defensive end Chike Okeafor and middle linebacker Orlando Huff are also in the final year of their current deals.

The Seahawks will have some serious decisions to make at the end of the season, perhaps more so than any other year in recent memory.

“We’ll see what happens,” said Robbie Tobeck, a 34-year-old center and impending free agent. “Hopefully we can all stay together. We want to win a lot more football games together.”

The most notable free agents are Hasselbeck, Alexander, Lucas and Walter Jones – all of whom should draw a lot of interest on the open market.

The Seahawks had discussions with representatives for Hasselbeck and Alexander before this season, but no contract was signed, leaving them to play the year without knowing what the future might hold.

Alexander has gone on to have the best season of his career, and he’s in position to become the first Seahawk to ever win an NFL rushing title.

Whereas they once may have been satisfied to get a top-10 contract among running backs, Alexander’s representatives might be trying to break the bank after his 2004 performance.

Lucas has also had a career year, as he’s tied for the NFC lead with five interceptions. In a free-agent class that’s not expected to include a lot of high-profile names – Washington’s Fred Smoot and Oakland’s Charles Woodson are the two that stand out – Lucas should have a lot of suitors next March.

Hasselbeck hasn’t had quite as much success, yet the Seahawks are still expected to reward him and try to bring him back. He won’t get anything close to the seven-year, $98 million deal Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning signed last March, but Hasselbeck could look for something just below the seven-year, $64 million contract the New York Jets’ Chad Pennington signed at the beginning of the season.

Jones’ situation is the most familiar to outsiders, who have read about the bantering between his agent and the Seahawks for almost three years. He’ll be back where he started at the end of the 2004 season, without a long-term contract and eligible for free agency.

Unlike the past two years, the decision to name him a franchise player might not be a slam dunk. The Seahawks are more likely to save the franchise tag or use it on a skill position player like Alexander or Hasselbeck. That would mean that Seattle would either have to work out a contract with Jones or offer him the slightly more risky “transition” tag, which allows other teams to negotiate with a player.