Wednesday, May 22, 2002

ProFootballWeekly.com asks personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the hottest topics in football. 

Seahawks reach out to grab fallen Leaf

One day after being released by the Cowboys, QB Ryan Leaf agreed to sign a one-year, $525,000 contract with the Seahawks, returning him to the Pacific Northwest, where he starred in college for Washington State. Leaf, 26, will compete for the third-string job in Seattle, serving behind starter Trent Dilfer and backup Matt Hasselbeck. For his career, he has started 21 of his 25 games played. He has completed 317-of-655 passes for 3,666 yards with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions.

Buchsbaum: While the signing of Ryan Leaf by Seattle may get a lot of publicity, this year he will basically be a non-factor. He was signed for his potential down the road. What he will do this year is be the team’s third-string quarterback behind Trent Dilfer and Matt Hasselbeck. If he behaves himself and makes progress, then he’ll get a chance to compete for a job the following year.

Because he was available at a very reasonable price, and because he was so highly regarded out of college, Mike Holmgren wants to take a look at him and see if he can mold Leaf into the quarterback he was supposed to be.

The one tricky situation is how much time under center will Leaf get? Dilfer will be the starter this year, meaning he will get the majority of snaps. If Hasselbeck develops into the quarterback that Holmgren thinks he can be, and the quarterback he projects as the future starter of the team, Hasselbeck will have to get a lot of attention and snaps as well. Thus, as the No. 3 quarterback, Leaf may spend the year just serving as practice fodder, mimicking the opposing team’s quarterback, and may not get the personal attention he needs to overcome all the bad habits he’s developed over the years.

Nevertheless, because of the contract Leaf signed, Seattle can cut him at any time if he becomes a problem. If he’s willing to accept his role on the team, there is a chance that maybe what Leaf once showed in college will be unearthed by a great QB coach like Holmgren, who always seems to have a Midas touch around quarterbacks.

Although it’s not quite a similar scenario, when Jim Plunkett came to the Raiders after the 49ers let him go, he looked shell-shocked, washed up and was looking for the pass rush instead of his receivers down the field. He showed no mobility and was very inaccurate with his throws. But after sitting him for a year and rebuilding his confidence, the Raiders eventually got a quarterback who led them to a couple of Super Bowl titles.

Obviously, expecting that much from Leaf would be stretching it quite a bit, but there always is a possibility when you’re dealing with a quarterback who at one point in his career was that talented, that all that talent shouldn’t have gone away that fast.

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2001 - 2002 Season