KIRKLAND -- Shaun Alexander made an appearance in the Seahawks' locker room Tuesday, and he was actually smiling and upbeat. His undaunted demeanor might have had something to do with the fact that the team's leading rusher had just returned from a trip to Florida, so Alexander has been away from the maelstrom of speculation about his future with the club since the Seahawks signed two running backs in free agency last week.
But then again, it could be that Alexander rarely gets caught up in the negativity of any situation.
"I'm great. I'm doing good," Alexander said during a brief telephone conversation later in the day. "But then I haven't seen TV or read anything, because I've been in West Palm Beach and at Disney World."
Alexander had to, well, run because he was heading to a church conference.
It wasn't his first meeting of the day. He also talked to club president Tim Ruskell, coach Mike Holmgren and offensive coordinator Gil Haskell while at the team's headquarters.
"It's all good," Alexander said.
But is it? The assumption is that Alexander has taken up permanent residence on a fast track out of town because of the additions of former Dallas Cowboys leading rusher Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett, a 254-pounder who has played with the Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins and Atlanta Falcons during his six-year NFL career.
So much so that a radio report had Alexander at the headquarters late in the day so he could be told he was being released.
"Shaun has not been released," Ruskell said as he was leaving the facility Tuesday night.
Holmgren, meanwhile, confirmed that he had a lengthy conversation with Alexander earlier in the day, and also pointed out that Alexander cannot be released at this time because he's still recovering from surgery on the left wrist that bothered him all of last season.
"Absolutely nothing has happened," Holmgren said.
Jim Steiner, Alexander's agent, was not taking calls Tuesday. But Monday night, Steiner told The Associated Press he planned to meet with the Seahawks regarding Alexander's future with the team and "about the running back situation there."
But Steiner should know that, since the CAA Football agency he works for also represents Jones.
It is known that the Seahawks can create $4.775 million of space under their salary cap by releasing Alexander after June 1, or earlier and designating the move a post-June 1 transaction. The post-June 1 release allows the cap hit from the remaining proration of the $11.5 million signing bonus that was part of his 2006 contract to be spread over two years -- $2.3 million this year and $4.6 million in 2009.
The Seahawks -- believed to be $4 million under the cap before signing Jones -- can use the money, but won't get it until June 2. That's why there is no rush to make a definite decision on Alexander, who is coming off two injury-interrupted seasons after putting together one of the more productive five-year runs in NFL history.
There also is reason to be concerned that the combination of Jones and Duckett is not enough to replace a healthy Alexander, and that such a back might not arrive until the April draft.
Will Alexander be released?
"Shaun has not been released," Ruskell repeated.
Alexander did not seem worried about any of this Tuesday. In talking to other players, he assured them being in his tenuous situation was part of the business and that things will work out.
As he repeated during the phone conversation, "It's all good."
HAWK TALK: Kasey Dunn, a former Washington State University assistant coach, has been hired to be the Seahawks' running backs coach. Dunn replaces Stump Mitchell, who left to become the offensive coordinator on the staff of Redskins coach Jim Zorn. Dunn went to North Kitsap High School before becoming a record-setting receiver at Idaho. ... Wide receiver D.J. Hackett, one of the Seahawks' remaining unrestricted free agents, will begin a two-day visit with the Redskins on Wednesday. It is the first visit for Hackett, and he is the first free agent to visit the Redskins.
P-I reporter Clare Farnsworth can be reached at 206-448-8016 or clarefarnsworth@seattlepi.com. Follow his Seahawks blog at blog.seattlepi.com/football.
