Meet Julius Jones, the centerpiece of the Seahawks' revamped rushing attack

KIRKLAND — The past and the future of the Seahawks' backfield bumped into one another over the past few weeks.

A few times, in fact, as Julius Jones and Shaun Alexander crossed paths at Seahawks headquarters in the locker room as well as the trainer's room at different points in the six weeks or so that both running backs were on Seattle's roster.

"It wasn't awkward at all," Jones said.

No big deal, just a little small talk. Alexander asked where Jones was living and invited him out to his church, too.

As far as backfield exchanges go, it was pretty smooth. It just took some time. The Seahawks announced Jones' signing on March 10, the move that set the stage for Alexander's release on April 23. That was the final step in an offseason overhaul of Seattle's ground game.

The first glimpse of next season's backfield will come this morning when the Seahawks begin a mandatory three-day minicamp at their headquarters, and Jones will participate in his first practice as a Seahawk. He won't be the only new element in the rushing offense. Seattle has a new running-backs coach in Kasey Dunn, a new offensive-line coach in Mike Solari and a new left guard in Mike Wahle. Maurice Morris and fullback Leonard Weaver return in the backfield, but Jones, T.J. Duckett and draft choices Justin Forsett and fullback Owen Schmitt have been added.

"We wanted to change the dynamic of the running game, top to bottom," Seahawks president Tim Ruskell said the day the Seahawks announced Alexander's release.

That search for a fresh start turned out to be the common ground in the free-agent pursuit of Jones. He wanted a change, too, after spending the past four years in Dallas.

"It was time for me to go," he said of his time with the Cowboys. "I'm thankful they gave me the opportunity to play in the NFL."

The Cowboys drafted Jones out of Notre Dame in 2004 in the second round. Dallas was so smitten by Jones that coach Bill Parcells passed up the chance to choose Steven Jackson out of Oregon State in the first round. Jones rushed for more than 800 yards each of his first three seasons in Dallas, peaking with a career-high 1,084 yards in 2006.

Even then, however, Jones said he could feel his role in Dallas receding. Jones' average rushing attempts per game declined each of his four years as a Cowboy. So did his touchdowns, and even though he remained the starter for all of the 2007 season, it became apparent the Cowboys were expecting Marion Barber to carry them into the future and not Jones, who is 26.

"Things turned and they wanted to go in a different direction," Jones said. "And I dealt with it the past two years."

This March, it was Jones' turn to change direction, and like a good running back, he cut back and went a long way. He visited three teams in the first eight days of unrestricted free agency, going from Detroit to Tennessee and finally to the Seahawks.

"By the time I went here, I was finished," he said. "I didn't want to go anywhere else."

He had success on his side in Seattle. After all, Qwest Field is where he ran for a career-high 198 yards and three touchdowns in 2004 when the Cowboys beat the Seahawks in a Monday night game.

Jones missed Dallas' regular-season game in Seattle in 2005, but gained 112 yards in the Cowboys' playoff loss to the Seahawks in January 2007. That game is best remembered for the snap Tony Romo bobbled on what would have been a game-winning field-goal attempt.

"I really enjoyed playing here," Jones said. "Especially the playoff game, the slick-ball game."

That game is just a part of the past, though.

Jones is part of the Seahawks' present as well as their future, the most significant signing in a backfield the franchise spent so much of this offseason rebuilding.

Notes

• Former Washington Huskies DT Larry Tripplett signed with the Seahawks this week. He started every game for Buffalo the past two seasons. He was a second-round pick by Indianapolis in 2002.

• The Seahawks also signed LB Wesly Mallard, a free agent best known for his special-teams play in the NFL, and claimed CB Dalton Bell off waivers from Carolina this week.