Alexander not in Cards

INDIANAPOLIS — Maybe it's just some pre-free agency posturing, but it sounds like one team rumored to be very interested in signing Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander is not so big on the idea.

That team would be the Arizona Cardinals. They have plenty of room under the salary cap to do some things in free agency and were put into the mix for Alexander because of their cap space and their struggles with a running game last season.

Running backs Marcel Shipp and J.J. Arrington did not produce the way the Cardinals had hoped, and Alexander will be a free agent unless the Seahawks can reach an agreement with him before Friday. But comments from Arizona coach Dennis Green and Rod Graves, vice president of football operations, at the NFL combine indicate the Cardinals aren't too willing to make the big splash.

"A blockbuster deal in my opinion is one that eats up most of your cap space," Green said. "It means you get one player and one and done. And we're not going to do that. If you ask me if we're going to go after one of the incredible backs that might be available in a blockbuster deal, that probably will not happen."

Edgerrin James of the Indianapolis Colts is another running back who could command big dollars.

The Cardinals' primary need is on the offensive line. They still express confidence in Arrington, a former second-round pick from California who did not improve as his rookie season went along. They need a running game to complement a very good passing attack.

Graves said the team has not expressed interest in Alexander or James, who are both still under contract. He indicated that the Cardinals would rather go after more affordable players who have the built-in drive to succeed, such as two defensive ends who have signed with Arizona in recent years, Bertrand Berry and former Seahawk Chike Okeafor.

"We certainly haven't expressed any interest and won't until March 3," Graves said. "But we feel we are poised from a cap standpoint to be aggressive in free agency, and we have identified guys we will go after."

Notes

• Joe Jurevicius would like to remain a Seahawk, and the team has expressed its desire to retain him, his agent said. If he is not re-signed by Friday, the free-agent market should be good for Jurevicius, who caught 55 passes for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

• At the combine, former Washington State RB Jerome Harrison ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash, fifth best in his workout group. Joe Toledo, a former offensive tackle at Washington, was fifth in his group with a time of 5.11 seconds.

• Mike Kudla, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive end from Ohio State, tied the combine record with 45 repetitions in the 225-pound bench press. DT Isaac Sopoaga of Hawaii set that mark in 2004.