Houshmandzadeh signs with Seahawks — just in time

RENTON — T.J. Houshmandzadeh took his time deciding where he would play next season.

Seahawks coach Jim Mora took Houshmandzadeh's timepiece just before he left Seattle on Saturday to follow through on his plans to visit the Minnesota Vikings before making a decision.

"He had this beautiful watch on," Mora said.

It was a Breitling, glistening with stones that were most certainly not cubic zirconia. Mora said he respected Houshmandzadeh's desire to honor his commitment to travel to the Vikings, but he had one request before the receiver left.

"You need to take that watch off and leave it here as collateral," Mora said.

On Tuesday, Houshmandzadeh was introduced at the Seahawks facility, given jersey No. 18 with his name on the back, and as he sat down to say hello to a new city, that watch was back around his wrist.

"I just got it back about 20 minutes ago," Houshmandzadeh said.

Some Seahawks fans would say it was about time he made up his mind. Houshmandzadeh visited Seattle on Friday, the first day of free agency, but didn't decide to become a Seahawk until three days later and after a visit to Minnesota.

"When I came to Seattle I told Minnesota that I would come up there, and I wanted to keep my word," Houshmandzadeh said. "And I guess that's not how free agency works. You get some place, you like it, you sign. But I wanted to keep my word, and I did."

And in the end, that made Houshmandzadeh even more confident of his decision to sign a five-year contract that will pay him at least $15 million and as much as $40 million.

The Seahawks get the only receiver in the NFL who has accumulated 90 or more receptions in each of the past three seasons, a player considered the top receiver available in free agency. President Tim Ruskell said he didn't even know if the Seahawks had a chance to get him.

"Until he made the decision to come and visit us, we weren't sure we had a shot," Ruskell said.

But in the end, the 31-year-old Houshmandzadeh chose to come to Seattle over playing in Minnesota or returning to Cincinnati.

"It was just a comfort level, really, to be honest with you," Houshmandzadeh said. "It's hard to say what put it over the top, why, but if you look at the team, they've got a good team. If you look at the quarterback, who's going to affect me a lot, they have a good quarterback. My kids and my wife, they said they liked coach Mora from the outset. They were asking about coach Mora when we left."

There was also the matter of that watch Houshmandzadeh had to get back.

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com