Football
Len Pasquarelli 19y

Jones out after awful game Sunday

With a diminished margin for error, and likely to battle down the stretch for the division championship, the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday addressed one of their most glaring deficiencies, adding free-agent punter Ken Walter.

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Walter

The seven-year veteran, who punted for the New England Patriots in both of their Super Bowl victories, becomes the third punter employed by the Seahawks this season. He will replace rookie Donnie Jones, who was released Monday after an abysmal outing in Sunday's victory over the Miami Dolphins.

A seventh-round draft choice from LSU, Jones averaged just 31.8 yards gross and 27.6 yards net on Sunday, including punts of 19, 20, 23 and 30 yards. In six games, Jones had averaged 38.0 yards gross with a 32.2-yard net average.

Jones replaced Tom Rouen when the veteran kicker was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury after four games. In those four contests, Rouen had a gross average of 42.0 yards and a net average of 37.8 yards.

Coach Mike Holmgren made it clear after Sunday's victory that he would seek a veteran punter for the rest of the season.

At 6-4, Seattle holds a skinny, one-game lead over the St. Louis Rams in the divisional race. But because the Rams won both games versus the Seahawks, they own an edge in the first tie-breaker. And with their offense sputtering, and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck sporadic, Seattle can ill afford to continue with its shaky punting game.

The Seahawks rank 29th in the league in gross average (39.9 yards) and are 22nd in net average (34.9 yards).

Walter, 32, has played previously for Carolina (1997-2000) and New England (2001-03) and owns a pair of Super Bowl rings. He worked out for the Seahawks on Tuesday and was signed after passing a physical examination. It is believed Walter signed a one-year contract, likely for the league minimum.

The former Kent State standout has appeared in 106 games and punted 486 times, for a gross average of 39.7 yards and a net average of 37.0 yards. For his career, Walter has just 26 touchbacks but has 154 punts inside the opposition 20-yard line.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click hereInsider.

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