(Requisite copy editor joke*)
Houshmandzadeh is leaving the Emerald City thirty million lighter than he wanted, ten million lighter than he deserves. I loved Houshmandzadeh from a talent and production standpoint, but there are legitimate concerns about if Seattle needs him. As I've pointed out before, the post-Matt Hasselbeck passing offense was actually quite good. Seneca Wallace placed 19th in passing DVOA, sandwiched between Jason Campbell and Matt Cassel. Was Seneca Wallace that good? No. Was Seattle's passing offense that good? No. But between the talent on field and the potential of a healthy Hasselbeck (and everything depends on that), Seattle's passing offense could easily be that and more. Houshmandzadeh is approaching 32 and if I'm not terribly concerned his performance will falter, it would be foolish not to be concerned his health will falter. Nevertheless, TJ was one of a small handful of truly attractive free agents and the last available that could provide immediate, season changing returns. So it's disappointing, but at ten mil per, absolutely necessary.
*How hard is it to program your spell check to recognize "Houshmandzadeh"?