Seahawks Tag Trufant

The Seattle Seahawks officially made their initial move to keep Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Trufant from free agency by designating him as their franchise player for 2008 on Thursday. The team announced that Trufant is still free to negotiate with any other team when free agency begins March 1. That means Seattle used the non-exclusive franchise tag, which allows the Seahawks to match any offer or receive two first-round draft choices if they decide not to match. Should he decide to sign the tender offer, Trufant would be guaranteed $9,465,000 for 2008, currently the average of the top five salaries for cornerbacks in the league. He could still sign a long-term contract with the Seahawks by July.