Monday, March 2, 2009

Hoping for Housh?

by: Michael Steffes

Are you one of the many Hawk fans hoping TJ chooses Seattle today? Well, there is good news on that front.

Ralph Vacchiano, beat writer for the NY Giants, is hearing that the Seahawks are the favorites to sign Houshmandzadeh. This was posted this morning:

The word is he’s looking for $10 million per season and at least four years, which would take him until he’s 36. From what I hear Seattle is the favorite. Houshman … (man, I’m really tired of spelling that. So glad the Giants are out of the picture) … T.J. spent the night in Minnesota. I’ve heard if he leaves there he’s heading to Seattle with the intention to sign with the ‘Hawks.
Vikings beat writers are also conceding the same point in this post:
Pure speculation on my part is that if Houshmandzadeh went back to Los Angeles that’s a good sign if you’re the Seattle Seahawks. Of course, yesterday I wrote that Seattle might be out of this race. Anyway, the news is that T.J. is no longer in the Twin Cities.
Make of all this what you will, but it seems that the Hawks may end up with the top receiver on the market. If you want my speculation, the Hawks are cleaning up needs through free agency, as Ruskell generally does. What this does is free up the team to take Matthew Stafford if he somehow falls to the fourth pick. A franchise quarterback is the one need that is very, very rarely filled through free agency, but often filled with an early pick. The Hawks have one this year, but don't project themselves to have one again anytime soon. Plus, Stafford needs a couple years before he is ready to lead a team. Who knows though, he might be the first player taken, too. END