Football
Associated Press 18y

Contract talks the only thing slowing for Alexander

KIRKLAND, Wash. -- The only things apparently slowing down
for Shaun Alexander right now are his contract talks.

The Seahawks' Pro Bowl running back and NFL rushing leader with
1,496 yards through 13 games said he believes negotiations on a new
contract have stalled.

"Honestly, I believe that they're going to wait until the end
of the year," Alexander said, one month after saying he
"definitely" felt he would have a new Seahawks deal before the
end of the season.

"It is what it is. As far as I know, I've stayed out of it,"
he said. "I've let my agent and the Seahawks people talk.

"I don't think there are any conversations going on right
now..."

The Seahawks had no response Thursday on Alexander's contract.
They have until March 3, the scheduled start of free agency, to
strike a deal with their all-time rushing leader.

Last spring, the team designated him its franchise player and
denied Alexander free agency. Alexander then signed a one-year,
$6.323 million contract -- the team's mandatory tender offer --
before training camp on the condition the Seahawks will not use the
same franchise tag on him after this season.

Alexander, who leads the NFL with 23 touchdowns rushing, does
not appear unhappy with his current situation. Instead, he is
seemingly growing more realistic about the timeframe it will take
to ensure he remains a Seahawk. He has said he wants to remain in
Seattle to "win four or five Super Bowls."

As fullback Mack Strong said of the man for whom he has been
clearing paths for the last six seasons: "If I'm in his shoes, I'd
know I was going to be taken care of."

"The kind of season he's having, with what he's doing this
year, he's going to enjoy what is going to get dumped in his lap,"
Strong said.

The 13-year veteran said he hasn't noticed Alexander preoccupied
with the contract situation, though Strong added, "I'm sure he
does think about it."

Strong then added his endorsement for Seattle keeping Alexander.

"People around here, it would really be to their advantage to
have him stay," Strong said. "The city, the organization, they
need to have him here.

"Personally, that's how I feel."

For now, Alexander is plowing along behind Pro Bowl tackle
Walter Jones, Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson and alongside the
NFC's second-rated passer, Matt Hasselbeck.

Alexander is on pace for a career-high 1,841 yards rushing. He
had a Seahawks-record 1,696 last season and missed the league
rushing title by 1 yard, finishing behind the New York Jets' Curtis
Martin.

And the Seahawks, winners of a team-record 10 straight, are on
pace for the NFC's top seed and home-field advantage throughout the
conference playoffs for the first time.

That is why Alexander is getting talked up for Most Valuable
Player consideration. And it is why "MVP! MVP!" chants have
become as common as sellouts at Qwest Field this season.

"I think MVP -- just like the rushing title -- its a team
award," Alexander said. "And that's why it was so funny, because
I said that last year and everybody got all fired up at the end of
the year. I'm like, `Well, these are team awards. We all are
striving for it.'

"Do I think I deserve it? I think as one of the key guys to our
team, I've made really big numbers, enough to get it."

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