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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Seattle’s Duckett still trying to find spot

Associated Press

Finding himself stuck in a crowd is nothing new to T.J. Duckett.

It happened in Atlanta. And in Washington. And Detroit, too.

Guess what? Nothing has changed now that Duckett’s in Seattle. He’s again stuck in a group of running backs, each trying to stand out and earn time on the field.

“You always want the ball in your hands, but at the end of the day it comes down to victories,” Duckett said.

Now in his seventh pro season, Duckett welcomed putting on the pads Sunday morning for the first full-contact practice of the Seahawks training camp. As always, his jersey was tucked under his shoulder pads – even on a cloudy and cool 60-degree morning.

“I’ve been doing that a long, long time,” he said.

Even though the 254-pound, tank-built Duckett has been impressive through spring minicamps and in the opening days of training camp, the Seahawks still are trying to find ways to use him. In his first press conference of training camp, coach Mike Holmgren said Julius Jones and incumbent Maurice Morris are the interchangeable starters at running back.

There was no mention of Duckett, but that doesn’t mean his effort has gone unnoticed.

“He’s making a lot of things happen right now. He’s been a real surprise coming back into camp,” running back coach Kasey Dunn said.

Hester signs four-year contract

A half hour into his first practice of training camp Sunday, Devin Hester got behind cornerback Charles Tillman and hauled in a 40-yard pass from quarterback Rex Grossman.

It’s the type of thing the Chicago Bears are hoping to see a lot during the regular season after signing Hester to a four-year contract extension, reportedly worth up to $40 million.

“I think the Bears have a lot of faith in me, and they feel that I do a lot of things on the offensive side of the ball, so they rewarded me,” said Hester, who in two seasons is two touchdown returns short of Brian Mitchell’s record of 13 kick or punt returns touchdowns — a mark that took 14 years to set.

Favre drama continues

Brett Favre didn’t report to the Green Bay Packers’ training camp Sunday, temporarily easing tensions in the three-time MVP’s ongoing standoff with the team.

Packers spokesman Jeff Blumb confirmed Sunday that Favre did not report to camp with Packers players, who were required to report at 7:30 a.m. CDT.

Favre told si.com that Packers general manager Ted Thompson had asked him for “a couple of days” to resolve the situation.

Around the league

Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro cornerback Asante Samuel is day-to-day with a mild hamstring strain. … Defensive tackle DeMario Pressley was placed on injured reserve by the New Orleans Saints, forcing the fifth-round draft pick to miss his rookie season. … Pro Bowl nose tackle Casey Hampton was placed on the physically unable to perform list after reporting to training camp overweight and failing to complete the Pittsburgh Steelers’ annual run test.