The Seahawks liked what they saw from the former first-round draft choice of the Rams, and Barron liked what he saw of from a young Seahawks team that can use his experience as part of its young offensive line group. As a result, the 6-foot-7, 320-pound Barron agreed to contract terms and joined the team’s offseason program today.

“That was pretty good, because it’s a little different than just a one-day workout,” Barron said of participating in the three minicamp practices. “I got to move around, be in the huddle, do some drills, have some one-on-ones with some guys, show a little movement.

“It was great.”

At the weekend minicamp, Barron was working at left guard with the No. 1 line. Today, with the veterans on the field for a 45-minute workout, Barron was at that spot with the No. 2 line.

But he’s just happy to be with a team, and in a situation where he can again display his talents. After being the 19^th selection overall in the 2005 NFL Draft, Barron started 74 games in five seasons with the Rams. Traded to Dallas in 2010, he made one start for the Cowboys. Barron signed with the Saints last year, but sat out the season after being placed on injured reserve in August with a knee problem and then released in October.

“I just wanted to get somewhere,” Barron said. “I’m pretty confident in my play. I’ve made some mistakes in the past, also. But I’ve gotten to the point where after last season, and coming into the offseason as a free agent, all I want to do is come in and just show that I can play.

“Because it can’t be talked about, it always has to be shown.”

That’s where the extended stay at the minicamp played to Barron’s strengths.

“He did a nice job,” coach Pete Carroll said Sunday. “He’s been around the block and you could tell that. He did enough good things that we could see that he could have a chance, so we’ll see where that fits. But he did a good job in this camp.”

Today, the No. 1 line included – from left tackle to right – Russell Okung, Paul McQuistan, Max Unger, John Moffitt and Breno Giacomini. McQuistan is in his seventh season in the league, but he started almost as many games last season (10) as he had in his first five seasons (12). Unger (32), Okung (22), Moffitt (nine) and Giacomini (eight) have combined to start 71 games – or four fewer than Barron has on his resume.

“This is real good, especially when you consider that I had to sit out all of last year on injured reserve,” Barron said. “But I’m over that now and moving forward. I’m here to help the team the best way I can.”

Veteran tackle Alex Barron, a former first-round draft choice of the Rams, has agreed to contract terms with the Seahawks.

The 6-foot-7, 320-pound Barron participated in the team’s rookie minicamp over the weekend on a tryout basis. He started 74 games in five seasons with the Rams after being the 19^th pick overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. After being traded to Dallas in 2010, he made one start for the Cowboys. Barron signed with the Saints last year, but sat out the season after being placed on injured reserve in August with a knee problem and then released in October.

“This is real good, especially when you consider that I had to sit out all of last year on injured reserve,” Barron said today after participating in the team’s offseason program workout. “But I’m over that now and moving forward. I’m here to help the team the best way I can.”

The club also reached agreements with two other tryout players from the weekend minicamp – cornerback Donny Lisowski, who went to Seattle’s O’Dea High School and then Montana; and Cooper Helfet, a 6-3, 239-pound tight end from Duke. Also added was Andrew Mitchell, a 6-5, 308-pound tackle who signed with the Bengals after the 2010 draft. He suffered a knee injury in a preseason game that August and spent the season on IR. Mitchell also missed last season.

To clear spots on the 90-man roster, linebacker Adrian Moten, offensive lineman Brent Osborne, cornerback London Durham and tackle Jon Opperud were released. Moten played in two games last season after being signed off the practice squad, while Osborne spent the season on the practice squad. Durham and Opperud were signed as free agents last month after the draft.

Coach Pete Carroll was impressed with the 5-11, 185-pound Lisowski during the weekend minicamp.

“He was all over the place out here,” Carroll said on Sunday. “I had no (idea about him), other than he ran extremely fast when he showed up for a workout day. And then he went out there and made a bunch of plays. So I was really fired up about him.”

The list of those 10 players will be revealed in a program that airs at 5 p.m., PDT. The only clues as to who it might be: He plays defense and was not on the list last year.

That the Seahawks were shutout last year was understandable. The team also failed to have a player selected to the Pro Bowl, for the second consecutive season. That there are at least two Seahawks on this year’s Top 100 list also is understandable. Free safety Earl Thomas was voted to the Pro Bowl last season, and joined by four teammates who were added as alternates for injured players – Lynch, fullback Michael Robinson, strong safety Kam Chancellor and cornerback Brandon Browner.

Mike Sando at ESPN.com offers a glance at the Seahawks’ offseason, including what went right – with a couple of items you might have forgotten or overlooked: “The Seahawks signed quarterback Matt Flynn in free agency without paying an exorbitant price. That made it easier to justify using a third-round choice for quarterback Russell Wilson. … Re-signing Marshawn Lynch before free agency and Red Bryant during free agency was critical. Lynch is the focal point of the offense. His running style became inseparable from the Seahawks’ identity on offense. Bryant was the most important defensive player against the run and a leader in the locker room. … Highly valued offensive line coach Tom Cable returned to the team after some speculation that a college program such as UCLA might consider him as head coach. … Free-agent defensive tackle Jason Jones chose Seattle over St. Louis at a reasonable price, making it easier for the Seahawks to part with Anthony Hargrove, who subsequently incurred an eight-game suspension. … The linebacker market was soft enough for Seattle to bring back Leroy Hill without overpaying.”

In her “Between the Tackles” feature at ESPN.com, Ashley Fox tackles the Seahawks’ QB situation now that coach Pete Carroll has added Wilson to the mix for the starting job: “Given that the Seahawks signed Flynn to a three-year, $26 million deal in free agency, he would seem to be the front-runner for the job. But Carroll has said that (Tarvaris) Jackson, who started the final 10 games of last season with a torn pectoral muscle, will get first crack at the first-team reps. Then Flynn. Then, presumably, Wilson. There is nothing wrong with competition in May and June, but if it lingers too long into training camp, it could prove counterproductive. Whoever is going to be the starter will need all the reps he can get.”

ESPN.com also has a survey where you can rank your favorite sports franchise.

Danny O’Neil at the Seattle Times offers some impressions from the rookie minicamp, including this one: “In a draft where the Seahawks surprised a number of people, (Korey) Toomer was perhaps the most under-the-radar selection. A linebacker Idaho recruited out of junior college, he missed the 2010 season after breaking his hand, and while he played well as a senior, he was not invited to the combine. He is long-armed and fast with incredible athleticism. His vertical leap measured 42 inches in a workout, and he looked every bit as athletic as advertised in this first weekend of workouts. He’s playing strongside linebacker, a spot that is locked down by K.J. Wright now, but it’s possible Toomer could land a role in the Seahawks’ nickel defense sooner, rather than later.”

In his “Shutdown Corner” at YahooSports.com, Doug Farrar says the Seahawks could reap dividends from the surprising picks of Wilson and Bruce Irvin, the pass-rusher who was selected in the first round: “While Irvin (the 15th overall pick) impressed through the Seahawks’ 2012 rookie minicamp, the real news came via Wilson, who showed impressive command of an NFL offense in his first opportunity to do so. Despite standing 5-foot-10 5/8 – a fact that had a lot of draft experts rating him as a fourth-round prospect – Wilson displayed many of the positive aspects required for his position. He was consistently nifty in the pocket, rolled out to throw very well, threw his receivers open downfield over and over, and sold play-action like a pro. Head coach Pete Carroll was beyond impressed – with Matt Flynn, Tarvaris Jackson and Josh Portis already on the roster, Carroll insisted that Wilson had already done enough to be in the running for the starting quarterback competition. If Wilson won the job before the season started, he would be just the second third-round quarterback in NFL history to claim that prize – Buffalo’s Joe Ferguson did the same in 1973.”

Also at YahooSports.com, Jason Cole wonders if Pete Carroll has commitment issues because of his decision to turn the QB situation into a three-man competition: “But shouldn’t the Seahawks have had an answer by now as to who will be their top option for a long-term successor to Matt Hasselbeck? Shouldn’t there be some sense of commitment to Matt Flynn, the former Green Bay backup who was signed in free agency? Shouldn’t Tarvaris Jackson get more than one season to show his ability? ‘At some point, we’re going to have to make that decision and that’s up to Pete to find out how that’s going to unfold,’ Schneider said. ‘We wanted to do it like in Green Bay, where we had a guy and we were always developing someone.’ OK, but … ‘Eventually you have to find someone and settle on that guy. We all realize that.’ “

Alex Marvez at FoxSports.com has a photo gallery of his 32 breakout players in the league for 2012, and he selects K.J. Wright for the Seahawks: “A 2011 fourth-round pick, Wright immediately displayed far better instincts at linebacker than 2009 first-rounder Aaron Curry ever did in Seattle. Wright’s quick emergence led to Curry being traded to Oakland midway through last season. Wright should be even more effective in 2012 since the Seahawks chose two front-seven defenders (pass-rush end Bruce Irvin and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner) in the first two rounds of April’s draft. ”

Here at Seahawks.com, “Monday Metatarsal Musings” makes a rare offseason appearance so we can review the weekend rookie minicamp: “When the Seahawks said they were bringing in 30-something players on a tryout basis to flush out the roster for their three-day rookie minicamp, my initial thought was good luck with that. And that was followed quickly by visions of offensive linemen running into one another while trying to block for a running play; cornerbacks colliding with receivers, and vice versa, on pass plays; and just a mish-mash of mangled assignments. It didn’t happen. None of it. The players – a group that also included the team’s 10 draft choices and 10 other rookie free agents who had been signed after the draft – went through two-hour practices on Friday and Saturday and a final 100-minute session on Sunday. While it wasn’t exclusively an exercise in precision, it was closer to that than the maddening mayhem it could have been.”

We’ve also got a look at the rookies joining the offseason program, and Carroll’s reflections of his draft experience (this one is worth checking out just to see the picture of Carroll as a safety at Pacific).

Remember Brandon Coutu? Sure you do. The kicker, and former Seahawks’ draft choice, has signed with the Jaguars, according to the team’s website.

2002: It is announced that Seahawks Stadium and Exhibition Center will be the interim name of the team’s new home field that is being built on the site where the Kingdome had stood. The complex was changed to Qwest Field in 2004 and in 2011 it became CenturyLink Field and Event Center.

So how was a hopeful in Stockton, Calif., to find out if he had indeed been among the 442 players who were drafted?

“I drove over to San Francisco – over to Lombard Street, where the news shops were – to get the paper where they have the list of everybody (who was drafted),” Carroll said Sunday after the Seahawks had completed their three-day rookie minicamp.

The Seahawks coach had prefaced this recollection by calling it “one quick, little sad story.”

“I’m sitting there in the half-dark, under the lamplight off the side street,” Carroll continued, growing more animated – and agitated – with each word. “Just every round, one-by-one, all the way down to the dang end.

“Nothing, man. I was so bummed.”

But his half-dark experience made the sun-drenched weekend even more enjoyable for the players who got to practice on the shores of Lake Washington.

“I’m so glad these guys get this chance here to have this opportunity,” Carroll said.

2010: Scott Fitterer is promoted to director of college scouting. Fitterer joined the Seahawks in 2001 as an area scout and served five seasons as western region director of college scouting before being named to his current position.

At the conclusion of the Seahawks’ three-day rookie minicamp on Sunday, coach Pete Carroll said, “The ‘varsity’ is not here yet, so we’ll see how that goes.”

The “varsity” returned today, as the veterans kicked off the third and final week in Phase 2 of the offseason program. Also on field for the 45-minute session were nine of the team’s 10 draft choices – defensive end Bruce Irvin, middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, quarterback Russell Wilson, running back Robert Turbin, linebacker Korey Toomer, cornerback Jeremy Lane, on-the-mend safety Winston Guy, guard J.R. Sweezy and defensive end Greg Scruggs; as well as six of the 10 rookies who were signed as free agents after the draft – wide receiver Phil Bates, tight end Sean McGrath, on-the-mend defensive back DeShawn Shead, guard Rishaw Johnson, defensive end Cordarro Law and kicker Carson Wiggs.

Things weren’t quite the same for the rookies, however. Just ask Bates, who went from Wilson’s go-to target during the minicamp to when-do-I-get-to-go-in status with the return of the veterans. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Bates caught four passes in one drill on Sunday, only to get four reps – total – today.

But Bates was smiling nonetheless after spending most of the workout studying the play-card with Dave Canales, and then staying out after the session to get a little extra instruction from the team’s offensive quality control coach.

“It was actually a lot different, but I kind of expected that,” Bates said. “It didn’t matter. I’m just trying to get in and learn as much as I can.”

Bates is just one of the intriguing prospects signed this year by general manager John Schneider and Carroll in the long line of players with unique qualities they have been compiling since joining the Seahawks in January of 2010. Bates’ learning curve is bit steeper, however, because he was an option QB at Ohio University for two seasons before switching to receiver last year – and catching 15 passes for 197 yards.

“I’m just trying to make sure I grab something new every day – make sure I just keep building and just keep going,” Bates said. “That’s the goal every day: Just try to get better.”

Bates was one of the better players at the minicamp, making plays from Friday’s first practice to Sunday’s final practice.

Now, he’ll have to wait his turn in a crowded wide-out group that includes Doug Baldwin, who led the team in receiving as a rookie free agent last season; an eclectic group of veterans that includes Golden Tate, Ben Obomanu, Deon Butler and Ricardo Lockette; and, eventually, Sidney Rice and Mike Williams, the incumbent starters who remain sidelined while recovering from surgery.

The Seahawks wrapped up their three-day rookie minicamp on Sunday and coach Pete Carroll said that Russell Wilson had played himself into the competition for the starting quarterback job with Tarvaris Jackson and Matt Flynn.

Former Seahawks QB Brock Huard, now a host on 710 ESPN, offers his take on Wilson at mynorthwest.com: “Flynn and Jackson will soon learn that a 5-foot-11 Rose Bowl quarterback is a lot closer in this race than (Brock) Osweiler, Nick Foles, Kirk Cousins and (Brandon) Weeden would be if they were in Seattle. The kid oozes with the ‘it factor,’ and has an arm and command that clearly puts him smack dab in this quarterback competition. Seahawks fans will sit on the berm in August and I am sure will ‘ooh and ah’ the same way many in the media did over the weekend. Carroll and his staff will have to figure out a way to dish out enough quality reps and work to fully evaluate the quarterback move that lies ahead. Sitting in the pole is Flynn; this is his job to lose. Jackson has the starts and experience under his belt, and Josh Portis has raw athleticism and talent. Yet lurking is Wilson, the constant over-achiever, the want-to-be quarterback anomaly at 5-feet-11 that is out to prove the NFL wrong. Carroll wants competition. Well, he’s got it now at the most critical position in sports. Get ready, Seahawks fans, the quarterback conversation is just beginning.”

Danny O’Neil at the Seattle Times looks at what Carroll’s decision means as the team moves deeper into its offseason program: “Carroll offered no specifics on how the competition would be structured and no estimate on a timetable for a decision, but suggested some patience. ‘It’s going to take us a long time to do this,’ Carroll said. ‘It’s going to be frustrating for you guys. You’re going to keep asking and want to know. I’m just going to be more patient than you can imagine as we go through this process, and we’ll just figure it out when we do.’ ”

Eric Williams at the News Tribune has the word on Wilson, and also profiles two of the campers from the South Sound area – Karvario Middleton and Renard Williams: “Seahawks coach Pete Carroll recognized the long odds for players such as Middleton and Williams making a Week 1 roster. ‘This is a first step for a lot of those guys, and for some of these guys it’ll be their only step,’ he said. ‘So we try and treat these days with them with a lot of respect for where their hearts are and all that.’ ”

 
Here at Seahawks.com, we’ve also got the word on Carroll’s assessment of Wilson that shouldn’t have come as a surprise: “Carroll did not step to the podium after practice and declare that Wilson was going to compete with Jackson and Flynn. In fact, his comments came in response to a question about whether Wilson was a developmental player. ‘Here’s what I’m going to say about it, he’s going to be in the competition,’ Carroll offered before the question had even been completed. ‘He’s showed us enough, he’s in the competition.’ And that is saying a lot. Wilson played one season at Wisconsin after transferring from North Carolina State. Jackson has been in the league for six seasons and started 34 games, including 14 for the Seahawks last season after he was signed in free agency. Flynn was the most sought after QB in this year’s free-agent class, despite having started only two games for the Green Bay Packers the past four seasons. But Wilson showed enough in three minicamp practices that “we need to see where he fits in with these guys,” as Carroll put it.”

We’ve also got a recap of the three-day rookie camp in Hawkville: “ ‘For these guys to have that chance to get out here and be in the NFL for a weekend and show what they can do, they’ll never forget it,’ coach Pete Carroll said. ‘And I think it means a ton to them.’ You could tell it meant just that, as the players sought out coaches at the conclusion of practice to shake hands and say thanks. The team’s 10 draft choices and seven of the 10 free agents signed after the draft will join the veterans in the offseason program on Monday, and it was those players who drew most of the attention in the minicamp practices – from first-round draft choice Bruce Irvin; to third-rounder Russell Wilson, who used the minicamp to throw himself into the competition for the starting job; to seventh-rounder J.R. Sweezy, a defensive tackle in college who spent the weekend learning to play offensive guard; to wide receiver Phil Bates, one of those free-agent additions who caught pass after pass after pass.”

If you’d rather watch than read, there’s Tony Ventrella’s video recap, as well as Carroll’s post-practice Q&A session.

For a look around the league, there’s Peter King’s “Monday Morning Quarterback” at SI.com, but he also includes his take on the Wilson situation: “Is it dumb? No, it’s not dumb. As GM John Schneider told me after the draft, Wilson was the third-best player he studied in all of college football last year, and Schneider doesn’t care what anybody on any other team or on TV thinks of his draft-weekend decisions. Against a big-time schedule with Wisconsin last year, Wilson put up some phenomenal numbers – 73 percent passing, 10.3 yards per attempt, 33 touchdowns and four interceptions – and his leadership is similar to Drew Brees’.”

A recap of the Seahawks’ three-day rookie minicamp that concluded today, May 13:

FOCUS ON

Three days in May. Make that three picture-postcard days, and three days when almost three dozen tryout players got to chase their dream of playing in the NFL.

The Seahawks wrapped up their rookie minicamp this afternoon, with another spirited practice on another gorgeous day along the shores of Lake Washington at Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

“For these guys to have that chance to get out here and be in the NFL for a weekend and show what they can do, they’ll never forget it,” coach Pete Carroll said. “And I think it means a ton to them.”

You could tell it meant just that, as the players sought out coaches at the conclusion of practice to shake hands and say thanks.

The team’s 10 draft choices and seven of the 10 free agents signed after the draft will join the veterans in the offseason program on Monday, and it was those players who drew most of the attention in the minicamp practices – from first-round draft choice Bruce Irvin; to third-rounder Russell Wilson, who used the minicamp to throw himself into the competition for the starting job; to seventh-rounder J.R. Sweezy, a defensive tackle in college who spent the weekend learning to play offensive guard; to wide receiver Phil Bates, one of those free-agent additions who caught pass after pass after pass.

“I can only tell you that we were thrilled with the (draft) picks,” Carroll said. “We think there’s something in every guy that’s unique and special. That we were fortunate enough to get guys in the spots that we got them and have a real plan as we look ahead where they can fit in and help us, it just feels like the next big step has been made.

“This is a first step for a lot of those guys, and for some of these guys it will be their only step. So we tried to treat these days with them with a lot respect with where their hearts are and all that.”

TURBIN-POWERED

Carroll was especially pleased of the performance of Robert Turbin, a running back who was drafted in the fourth round. After playing in a spread offense at Utah State, Turbin made an almost seamless shift to the Seahawks’ zone-blocking scheme.

“He had an excellent camp,” Carroll said. “He has terrific speed. He has excellent feet. We were a little bit unsure of how well he would flow with the zone running game because he ran out of the (shot) gun all the time.

“He did it like he’s been doing it all along. So he showed natural instincts for the flow of the line of scrimmage.”

Turbin’s best run came Sunday, when he broke through the line on a counter play to gain 30 yards.

“He’s shown ability through the (three) days here that he can see the line of scrimmage well,” Carroll said. “He can feel it and he can burst.”

STICKING OUT

Asked which “unknown” players stood out, Carroll mentioned three:

Rishaw Johnson, a 6-3, 313-pound guard from California University in Pennsylvania and one of the free agents who was signed after the draft.

“He showed some tremendous stuff,” Carroll said. “We liked him going through the later rounds of the draft. He’s just a long ways down the road of understanding how to play the game. I think if he’ll continue to learn and understand what we’re asking of him, he has a chance to help us.”

Sweezy, the defensive tackle from North Carolina State who was drafted in the seventh round as a guard.

“The experience with J.R. was obvious that we’re on the right track,” Carroll said. “He’s very aggressive and carried over the defensive mentality that you’d hoped he would have. Tom (Cable, offensive line coach) was thrilled about what he saw from him.”

Donny Lisowsky, a 5-11, 185-pound cornerback from Montana and Seattle’s O’Dea High School, and one of the tryout players in camp.

“He was all over the place out here,” Carroll said. “I had no (idea about him), other than he ran extremely fast when he showed up for a workout day. And then he went out there and made a bunch of plays. So I was really fired up about him.”

YOU DON’T SAY

“We had a joke. I said, ‘Man, if I accidently tackle you, I’m sorry.’ ” – Sweezy, on having been a defensive tackle when Wilson also was playing at North Carolina State