Every year, every training camp, every exhibition season brings the inevitable this-is-Jerramy-Stevens'-year proclamation, presumably to free the Seahawks tight end from a career of unrealized potential.

Must be that time of year again.

This year, the Seahawks hope, will be different than the three before. This year, Stevens hopes to deliver on the promise that pushed him to the first round of the 2002 NFL draft.

The story line never changes. Stevens arrived at training camp in the best shape of his career. He arrived back in Seattle less than a month later after what offensive coordinator Gil Haskell called the "best training camp of his career."

Disclaimer: These things have been said before.

And yet the Seahawks wait for the Stevens who showed up in the first quarter last night, snagging four receptions for 52 yards' worth of hope that hype finally shakes hands with reality this season.

"This is a step in the right direction for myself," Stevens said afterward, pulling on his long goatee. "No bigger. No smaller. Just a step."

So which Stevens will the Seahawks see this season? The one they've been expecting for a while? Or the one collecting three seasons' worth of broken hearts and busted dreams?

After disappearing against New Orleans in the exhibition opener, Stevens gave the Seahawks another glimpse of promise, another shot of hope.

And again, hope is what they're left with. Hope that Stevens' body fat and muscle mass see-sawing in opposite directions is a good sign. Hope that another stint on the All-Training Camp Team will lead to something more than frustration when the season starts.

"He really has been improving every year," quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. "Things have to come at the right time. You have to be lined up right. You have to be in the lineup. We caught him a couple times tonight matched up with a linebacker. It paid off."

It hasn't always. Type "Jerramy Stevens" and "bust" into an Internet search engine and watch 679 hits materialize. In 44 career games, Stevens has 63 catches, 673 yards and six touchdowns — not exactly numbers that warrant the highest selection for a tight end in team history.

But Stevens appears to be developing a rapport with Hasselbeck. It started with Stevens spending the offseason in Kirkland, working with his quarterback and his teammates, trying to affirm why this season will be different than the others.

"It's confidence more than chemistry," Stevens said of his relationship with Hasselbeck. "He's getting more confident in my ability. It's a product of me showing him I'm as dedicated as he is."

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com