PA Season Ticket Holder
06-24-2003, 02:12 AM
In a move that upgrades the middle linebacker position specifically, and their overall defense in general, the Seattle Seahawks signed unrestricted free agent Randall Godfrey to a one-year contract Monday evening, ESPN.com has learned.
The acquisition of Godfrey, who will almost certainly become the Seahawks starter in the middle, comes just five days after the seven-year veteran was released by the Tennessee Titans for salary cap reasons, despite having accepted four months ago a fairly significant reduction in his compensation for 2003.
League sources confirmed that Godfrey, 30, will receive a $1 million signing bonus and a base salary of $800,000, with the ability to earn an additional $300,000 in incentives. He would be eligible for unrestricted free agency next spring unless he signed an extension before the commencement of the 2004 free agency period.
The Seahawks, who had been seeking a veteran middle linebacker much of the offseason, outhustled the Jacksonville Jaguars to land Godfrey, who was inarguably among the top players still available. Godfrey had visited with Jaguars officials last Friday, then flew to Seattle for a Monday meeting with the Seahawks. He was tentatively scheduled to go to Green Bay later in the week and the Philadelphia Eagles had also shown some interest.
Competition for Godfrey's services began within less than an hour of his release last week, largely because he remains a productive player at a position of need, and also because it has been an offseason in which veterans of his ilk have not become available in the post-June 1 period when some franchises dump salaries.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1571963.html
The acquisition of Godfrey, who will almost certainly become the Seahawks starter in the middle, comes just five days after the seven-year veteran was released by the Tennessee Titans for salary cap reasons, despite having accepted four months ago a fairly significant reduction in his compensation for 2003.
League sources confirmed that Godfrey, 30, will receive a $1 million signing bonus and a base salary of $800,000, with the ability to earn an additional $300,000 in incentives. He would be eligible for unrestricted free agency next spring unless he signed an extension before the commencement of the 2004 free agency period.
The Seahawks, who had been seeking a veteran middle linebacker much of the offseason, outhustled the Jacksonville Jaguars to land Godfrey, who was inarguably among the top players still available. Godfrey had visited with Jaguars officials last Friday, then flew to Seattle for a Monday meeting with the Seahawks. He was tentatively scheduled to go to Green Bay later in the week and the Philadelphia Eagles had also shown some interest.
Competition for Godfrey's services began within less than an hour of his release last week, largely because he remains a productive player at a position of need, and also because it has been an offseason in which veterans of his ilk have not become available in the post-June 1 period when some franchises dump salaries.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1571963.html