Seahawks Sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh

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The Seattle Seahawks won the T.J. Houshmandzadeh sweepstakes today. The receiver-depleted Hawks offered Housh five years for $40 million with $15 million guaranteed and beat out the Vikings and Bengals (be serious) for his services. I think T.J. is definitely worth the money. He’s proven that on the field with 372 receptions over the past four years. No other player has caught more passes. He’s a bigger body receiver than his 6-1, 200 pound frame would indicate. He’s a guy who isn’t afraid of the middle of the field. He catches everything thrown at him. He runs good routes. He makes plays. So, he needed to get paid and he did what he felt was best for his career in choosing Seattle. There’s not much in the way of quotes yet, but T.J. did say:

“I just felt it was the best destination, it was the best team, it was the best choice for me.”

Well, obviously. And he might be right. A lot of folks felt Housh should’ve signed with the Vikings as they are supposedly poised to make a Super Bowl run, but I really don’t see it happening based on their offseason moves thus far. The Vikes completely overlooked better available free agent QBs — apparently opting to put their offense in the hands of unproven semi-journeyman quarterback Sage Rosenfels — and haven’t done anything to address their own dire need at the receiver position. At this time, Minnesota still doesn’t have a number one receiver and ultimately I don’t think they’ll be any better than they were last season. If they’re even that good. I would grade their offseason/FA work with an F at this point. As far as the Seahawks are concerned, they have much greater stability at the quarterback position with Matt Hasselbeck. Seattle doesn’t have the running game the Vikings do, but they do have the quarterback. For T.J., it was about more money and a better quarterback. Decisions, decisions. You do the math.

Source: ESPN.com, Photo: Newscom