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.

	Godfrey

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.

It is all but a given that Godfrey will start for the Seahawks, who before his availability, were confronted with having to choose from between a pair of younger players, Isiah Kacyvenski and Orlando Huff, at the middle linebacker position. By getting Godfrey, the Seahawks add not only experience but also quality to a unit that statistically ranked No. 28 in 2002 and which was last in the league versus the run.

Godfrey has suffered through injuries the past two seasons and he was limited to just eight appearances and five starts in '02 because of a severely sprained ankle. For his career, he has 752 tackles, 10 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, five interceptions and 19 passes defensed. But he had only 32 tackles in 2002 and, at a time when more teams are moving quicker players to the middle linebacker spot and trying to keep them on the field for all three downs, some clubs regarded Godfrey mostly as a two-down run stuffer.

Even if that is the case, however, he will be a welcomed addition to the Seattle defense. The Seahawks organization, and new defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes in particular, made no secret of its ardor for Godfrey shortly after his exit from the Titans.

Conventional wisdom had been that Godfrey might favor Jacksonville as the site for continuing his career, since it is close to his native Valdosta, Ga., but the Seahawks were aggressive in recruiting him. And with the Jaguars, he would have been moved outside to the strongside linebacker spot, where he began his career.

The former University of Georgia star began his league tenure with the Dallas Cowboys as a second-round draft choice in 1996. He played his first four seasons with the Cowboys and then moved to Tennessee as an unrestricted free agent in 2000, signing a contract that included $5 million in upfront money.

By releasing Godfrey, the Titans carved out roughly $2.005 million in cap room. The club will have to carry a charge of $3.58 million on its 2003 cap and $3.08 million on the 2004 cap. Godfrey's cap charge for 2003 was to have been $5.58 million and the veteran was to have earned a base salary of $2 million this season and $4.75 million in '04.

The move was designed to allow the Titans to eventually re-sign three of their own free agents -- punter Craig Hentrich, center Gennaro DiNapoli and backup quarterback Neil O'Donnell -- and those deals should be completed by the end of the month.

But the ham-handed manner in which the Titans dumped Godfrey, and the timing of the move, was questioned by several Tennessee veterans and was viewed negatively in the team's locker room. Not only did Godfrey accept pay cuts totaling $2.5 million back in February, but he was also well-liked by teammates, and the team retained him late into the offseason, at a time when it is typically difficult to find work.

"He did something (to help) the organization and team out of good faith," said tailback Eddie George, "and it appears that he was kind of back-stabbed to a certain degree." Added outspoken cornerback Samari Rolle: "In a lot of people's eyes, it is going to be (regarded) as a cut-throat move."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.