seneca wallace

Seahawks deal Seneca Wallace to Browns

Seneca Wallace waited seven years in Seattle for a chance to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Now he might get that shot, but in Cleveland where he'll reunite with former coach Mike Holmgren.

The Seahawks traded their long-time backup quarterback to the Browns on Monday evening for an undisclosed draft choice in 2011.The Seahawks clearly are ready to go new directions with their roster under new coach Pete Carroll and now will likely draft a quarterback to groom under and compete with starter Matt Hasselbeck.

Holmgren, meanwhile, is pushing the Browns in the direction of his familiar West Coast offense and could use Wallace to help that transition.

"This will give Seneca a chance for a fresh start," said new Seahawks general manager John Schneider. "The Browns front office's familiarity with his abilities will give him an opportunity to compete for playing time. We wish him nothing but the best."

Wallace, 29, was drafted by Seattle in the fourth round in 2003.

Wallace performed fairly well as the fill-in starter after Hasselbeck went out with a back injury midway through the 2008 season, but struggled in his two starts last year in new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp's system.

The draft pick will be in part decided by how much Wallace plays next season in Cleveland, but exact terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Coincidentally (or not, conspiracy theorists?), the move frees up Wallace's No. 15 roster number, which also happens to be the number worn by Denver receiver Brandon Marshall.

Don't hold your breath on anything happening there immediately as the Seahawks must determine their level of interest in Marshall and then work out compensation with both the player and the Broncos if they intend to make him an offer.

But it's fair to say the Seahawks were impressed with Marshall during his weekend visit and will continue looking into the possibility of signing the controversial receiver.

Wallace started 14 games in his seven seasons in Seattle, completing 333 of 556 passes for 3,547 yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

He was a good enough athlete to play wide receiver on occasion as well and made a memorable catch in the Seahawks' NFC Championship game in 2005. He caught four passes for 76 yards in his Seattle tenure and rushed 54 times for 214 yards.

The move leaves the Seahawks with just two quarterbacks on their roster -- Hasselbeck and Mike Teel, who didn't play last year as a rookie out of Rutgers.

It surely increases the likelihood of the team drafting a quarterback at some point this April. The Seahawks have lined up an individual workout with Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, but they'll have numerous options there or could pursue a veteran backup in free agency.

Chad Pennington just re-signed with Miami, so the list of potentially available veterans include the likes of Kyle Boller, Rex Grossman, Jon Kitna and Chris Redman.

More likely the Seahawks pursue a young leader of the future and may be competing with the Browns in that vein. Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer suggests Derek Anderson likely will be released or traded in the coming weeks and that Brady Quinn might be vulnerable as well.