Walter Jones

[football junkie]

Walter Jones, Seattle's six-time All-Pro left tackle, has apparently announced his retirement from the NFL via his twitter account.

No paperwork has been filed with the league or players association, yet. The Seahawks are not commenting on Jones' status. Jeremy Bates, the Seahawks' new offensive coordinator, dodged questions about Jones' future at a press conference on Tuesday.

Jones was injured for the entire 2009 season. He indicated last year that he wanted to attempt a comeback and that his performance at a spring 2010 mini-camp would determine his future. It certainly seems like Jones has already made up his mind and Seattle has lost its 13-year O-Line anchor.

Sean Locklear spent most of last season at left tackle for the Seahawks -- which might have something to do with Matt Hasselbeck getting sacked 32 times in 14 games. The retirement of Jones forces the Seahawks into looking for an offensive tackle in the first two rounds of the 2010 draft. Successful teams are built along the offensive and defensive lines and Seattle could snag Anthony Davis, Russell Okung, Bruce Campbell, Trent Williams or Bryan Bulaga in the first round.

If this is the end of the road for Jones, perhaps it is for the best. It was painful to watch Orlando Pace, the once great St. Louis Rams left tackle, toil away in mediocrity as a Bear last season after too many injuries took away his once extraordinary talents.

[Seattle1]

That might just be Walter goofing around on Twitter again. We'll see.