March 21, 2008

Lofa Tatupu

From the moment he first donned a Seahawks uniform three seasons ago as a widely criticized second-round selection, MLB Lofa Tatupu has been too good to be true. The Seahawks recognized that fact Friday afternoon, rewarding the three-time Pro Bowler with a six-year contract extension for just over $40 million, with $16 million in guarantees. Preliminary indications are that the reworked contract, which will take him through the 2015 season, puts Tatupu on a par financially with Bears MLB Brian Urlacher. True to form, Tatupu reportedly was willing to take less money in the hopes that it might free up some cash to help the team reach new deals with fellow LB Leroy Hill and “franchise” CB Marcus Trufant.

The PFW spin

The Seahawks did a good job keeping this maneuver under their hat. The announcement of a new contract for Trufant, who is currently tying up badly needed cap money, seemed a lot more likely in the Pacific Northwest, and maybe that will still happen, as Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell seems intent on continually strengthening the Seattle defense.

Tatupu has become a respected team leader both on and off the field — teammates Patrick Kerney, Deon Grant, Craig Terrill and Jordan Babineaux all agreed to have their contracts restructured to free up enough cap room to make Tatupu’s new deal a reality — and his ascension into the high-rent district for NFL linebackers couldn’t be more deserving.

If the team can indeed somehow also re-up with Hill, it would be another smart, well-timed and well-deserved move. Hill came on like gangbusters down the stretch last season and has a Pro Bowl-caliber upside. Put simply, there isn’t a better starting LB unit in the NFL right now than Tatupu, Hill and Pro Bowler Julian Peterson.