Why is the 2005 NFL MVP still unemployed?

By Chris Cluff  |   Friday, August 22, 2008  |  Comments( 7 )

Seattle Seahawks
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The 2005 NFL MVP is still without a team, four months after being released by the Seattle Seahawks. How is that possible?

Despite being the Seahawks’ alltime leading rusher and one of the top touchdown scorers in NFL history, Shaun Alexander has garnered little interest from other franchises since the team cut him April. He still wants to play, as evidenced by the fact that he has been spotted working out at the University of Washington this month. Thus far, though, no team has reached out to him since the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints kicked the tires last spring.

It’s still possible that someone will sign Alexander, but it might not be until after the first game of the season when veteran salaries are no longer guaranteed for the length of the year. A few teams – Houston, Denver, Chicago, Detroit -- probably could use him right now, but there are reasons no one has signed him.

First, Alexander is coming off two injury-shortened seasons in which he totaled just 1,612 yards and 11 touchdowns and averaged only 3.5 yards per carry. Second, when the season begins, Alexander will be 31 – an age at which most running backs historically have begun to fade into ineffectiveness. Third, Alexander has a reputation around the league for being soft – going down on first contact, not blocking well, saving himself, etcetera.

But perhaps most damning is the fact that Alexander’s breed of runner is obsolete in today’s NFL. This is an age of specialization, of RB by committee. There are few franchise backs left – you can almost count them on one hand: LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook, Steven Jackson, Adrian Peterson, Larry Johnson, Clinton Portis, Jamal Lewis, Willie Parker. Even some of those guys share the load with capable backups. And most teams go with the tandem attack – e.g., Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew in Jacksonville, Marion Barber and now Felix Jones in Dallas, Joseph Addai and Kenton Keith/Dominic Rhodes in Indianapolis, Laurence Maroney and a cast of thousands in New England.

Alexander has no specialty. He isn’t exceptionally powerful or fast, doesn’t catch very well and can’t block. From 2001 to 2005, when he was one of the most productive backs in the league, Alexander was very good at avoiding big hits, cutting to daylight and finding the end zone (87 touchdowns in those five years). He had deceptive speed and was shifty with a low center of gravity. But -- with the exception of his 1,880-yard, 27-touchdown, MVP season in 2005 -- he always was considered soft and selfish. And that’s probably what has sunk him as much as anything.

But even with all of that baggage, it’s hard to think Alexander could not help some team.

The Texans have questions at running back, with Ahman Green and Chris Brown constantly injured and Steve Slaton the only healthy option. The Broncos let Travis Henry go and are once again trying to see if they can make their ground game run with relatively unknown young’uns – as in Selvin Young’un and Andre (Kid in the) Hall. Chicago has no established back, instead relying on a group that includes rookie Matt Forte, holdovers Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe and injured veteran Kevin Jones. And the Lions, who let Jones go, have former Bronco Tatum Bell and rookie Kevin Smith. Injuries or ineffectiveness could result in any of those teams – or the Bengals or Saints -- taking a look-see at Alexander early next month.

Sam Adams of the Rocky Mountain News already has suggested that the Broncos sign Alexander.

“Take a chance on free agent Shaun Alexander,” Adams wrote this week. “Give him an incentive-laced contract that pays a minimum base salary and see how he performs.”

“When he was hungry for a raise three years ago,” Adams wrote, “Alexander ran for nearly 1,900 yards and 27 touchdowns with Seattle. Well, he’s unemployed, so Alexander ought to be hungry again -- about as hungry as you can be after being cut from a contract that was worth $62 million.”

It has been quite a drop for Alexander, from MVP to out of the league in under three years. But it’s hard to imagine him not getting another shot with some team this fall.

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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding, ...
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