Inexplicably out of the league since being released by the Washington Redskins two games into the 2001 season, quarterback Jeff George is finally back in the NFL, with ESPN.com learning the 12-year veteran on Tuesday signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

George, 34, will replace the injured Trent Dilfer on the roster. Dilfer tore his right Achilles tendon in Sunday's victory at Dallas and will be sidelined for the balance of the season. Matt Hasselbeck will assume the starting job and the only other quarterback on the roster is rookie Jeff Kelly.

Coach Mike Holmgren emphasized that Hasselbeck will remain the starter and George is coming in to fill a role.

"It's important for our football team that Matt gets another shot at this thing, with the fans,'' Holmgren said. "It's important for everyone to understand what we are really doing. He's (George) coming in to fill a particular role.''

The contract is for one year, at the veteran minimum of $750,000, which comes to $397,058 when prorated over the balance of the season.

In an interview with ESPN.com last week, George emphasized his desire to return to the field, if possible this season. He had been contacting teams on his own and he also recently hired agents Tom Condon and Ken Kremer of IMG Football, in an effort to resume his career.

"Look, I just want to play," George told ESPN.com last week. "The money is irrelevant. It's just hard to sit in front of the television Sunday afternoons and be a spectator. Just once, I'd like someone to look me in the eye and tell me why they don't want to give me a shot."

Labeled by some as a "coach killer," and viewed as unable to get along with his teammates, George is actually known by those close to him as a devoted family man who is fiercely loyal to a small group of confidants.

It is believed the Seahawks auditioned only one other candidate, journeyman Jeff Brohm, for the roster opening.

George started the first two games for the Redskins in 2001, both losses, and then was released by then-Washington coach Marty Schottenheimer. He had a few teams interested last season but no franchise even opted to bring him to training camp this summer. George noted that, if he didn't catch on with a team this year, he wanted to be in a training camp next summer.

"I'm not ready to quit yet," he said.

The deal with Seattle is somewhat ironic, since George rejected a trade to the Seahawks in 1996, after being suspended by the Atlanta Falcons for a sideline contretemps with coach June Jones. The two teams had agreed on the trade parameters, with then-Seattle quarterback Rick Mirer, set to move to the Falcons, before George nixed the swap.

Seattle will become the sixth different franchise for which George will have played, after stints in Indianapolis (1990-93), Atlanta (1994-96), Oakland (1997-98), Minnesota (1999) and Washington (2000-2001).

The first overall choice in the 1990 draft, George has completed 2,298 of 3,967 passes for 27,602 yards, with 154 touchdown passes and also 113 interceptions, for an efficiency rating of 80.4. George has thrown for more than 2,500 yards six times in his career and for 20 or more touchdowns on four occasions.

Because he has played in some many different systems during his career, and worked for a variety of head coaches and offensive coordinators, he should be able to assimilate the Seattle offense fairly quickly. That said, he is likely to serve as the No. 3 or "emergency" quarterback this week, when the Seahawks host the Redskins.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.