Will the Seattle Seahawks Take Flight with the Signing of TJ Houshmandzadeh?

On Monday night, reports emerged that former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh signed a 5 year contract with the Seattle Seahawks.  The deal is said to be worth $40 million dollars, which includes $15 million in guarantees. 

Houshmandzadeh is well known for his long-term relationship with wide receiver Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson as they were both teammates together at Oregon State and the Cincinnati Bengals.  The pair are considered to be one of the best wide receiver tandems over the past few years. 

Houshmandzadeh had a solid career with Cincinnati. He played 103 games in which he racked up 507 receptions for 5782 yards and 37 touchdowns.  One of the most signifcant parts of his impressive resume is that he is the league leader with 372 receptions over the last four years. He has also gone five consecutive seasons with more than 900 receiving yards. 

Houshmandzadeh could provide the crucial spark for the Seahawks offence that was plagued with the injuries of Matt Hasselbeck, Deion Branch, and Nate Burleson through most of last season. 

Ever since the severe hamstring injury that kept him out of the 2003 season, Houshmandzadeh has managed to stay relatively injury-free and start in most games for the Bengals.  

It will be very important for Houshmandzadeh and the Seahawks offence to stay healthy if they want to overcome the Cardinals and reclaim the NFC West title. 

As Houshmandzadeh is welcomed into the great northwest, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will have a lot of weight on his shoulders and be expected to step up his performance now that he has a new star receiver to work with. 

Hasselbeck will likely run a more pass-minded offence due to a weak running game since the departure of Shaun Alexander.  Do not be surprised if the Seahawks begin to move towards a West Coast offense. 

Houshmandzadeh is known to be very efficient as a possession receiver especially around the goal-line, which gives Hasselbeck more passing options inside the ten yard line.  The Seahawks offence has the potential to be very dangerous if Hasselbeck and Houshmandzadeh can find the right connection and become a lethal QB-WR threat. 

Seattle fans are hoping that the signing of Houshmandzadeh will not turn into another disappointment as were the high-profile signings of Nate Burleson and Deion Branch.  It will be interesting to see at the beginning of the season how Houshmandzadeh's production is affected by the absence of Chad Johnson opposite him on the field.