The Seattle Seahawks reached contract agreements with both their first-round picks, wide receiver Koren Robinson of North Carolina State -- the higher of the team's two first-round choices -- and Michigan guard Steve Hutchinson.
On Thursday, the Seahawks announced they had signed their
second-round pick, cornerback Ken Lucas.
Robinson was the ninth overall choice in the draft and was set to sign a six-year,
$10.1 million contract on Thursday, agent Alvin Keels confirmed. Keels said
there were only minor details to be fine-tuned in the contract
language before Thursday.
The contract includes an initial signing bonus of $4 million and then an
option bonus next spring of $2.5 million. The base salaries are $800,000
(2001), $400,000 (2002), $450,000 (2003), $550,000 (2004), $600,000 (2005) and 800,000 (2006). The cap value for 2001 is $1.467 million.
The sixth year of the contract can be voided based on minimum playing time
in any of the first five seasons. The base salary for 2005 can escalate to
as high as $2.2 million based on reaching certain predetermined performance
benchmarks. There is another $1 million in not likely to be earned
incentives.
Robinson, 21, was one of the most intriguing prospects in the entire draft.
He departed North Carolina State after playing only two seasons and some
scouts compared him favorably to Randy Moss. But some poor 40-yard times, precipitated largely by a lingering hamstring injury, dropped his stock a bit. Still, he was the second wide receiver selected, behind only David Terrell, who went to the Chicago Bears one pick earlier.
In his two seasons, Robinson caught 110 passes for 1,914 yards and 15
touchdowns. He exploded in 2000, with 13 touchdown receptions.
Hutchinson, who some NFL scouts considered the most complete blocker in the draft, went to Seattle as the No. 17 pick.
His contract is for five years and worth $6.789 million. It includes a signing bonus of $3.314 million and an option bonus of $1.386 million in the
second year.
Seattle, which perhaps had the most productive draft in the entire NFL, has
now reached accords with 11 of its 12 selections. After deals late Wednesday
with second-round cornerback Ken Lucas and sixth-round quarterback Josh
Booty, third-round fullback Heath Evans was signed Thursday.
Hutchinson, 23, is a powerful in-line blocker who comes strong off the ball
and also possesses surprisingly good movement skills. In four seasons at
Michigan, he played in 47 games and had 286 "key blocks" according to
coaches.
Lucas, a University of Mississippi standout, signed a multi-year
contract, Seahawks officials said. No details were provided. He had
17 regular-season starts, with 85 tackles and seven interceptions
for UM.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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