RENTON, Wash. — Tim Ruskell knows his legacy is set in Seattle. And it’s not from presiding over the Seahawks’ only Super Bowl.
It’s for letting perennial Pro Bowl offensive tackle Steve Hutchinson leave in free agency while as the Seahawks’ president and general manager, a job that ended Thursday.
That gaffe, giving Hutchinson a transition tag instead of the more restrictive franchise tag for 2006, accelerated the team’s decline that cost the 20-year scout his first GM job.
“I talked to my wife the other day and said, ‘Let’s look at that will again,’ ” Ruskell said jokingly after announcing his forced resignation weeks before his five-year contract ended in Seattle. “It says ‘burial.’ But let’s go for ‘cremation’ — so they won’t be able to write, ‘Here lies the man that lost Hutch’ on my tombstone.”
Seahawks vice president for player personnel Ruston Webster will serve as interim GM.
Footnotes.
Chargers outside linebacker Shawne Merriman (foot), defensive end Luis Castillo (ankle) and safety Eric Weddle (knee) aren’t expected to play against the Browns on Sunday.
• Rams running back Steven Jackson has been fined $5,000 for throwing a ball into the stands after he scored in the final minute of Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks.
• With Kurt Warner and Matt Leinart splitting practice time with the starters, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said he doesn’t expect to decide who will start at quarterback Sunday night against the Vikings until just before game time.
