Well, we’re already stirring up trouble in Indianapolis.  And we’re not even in Indiana.

In response to rumors we’ve heard from multiple folks at the Scouting Combine that Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander might soon be shoved into the Pacific Ocean, the team has declined comment.

Per Clare Farnsworth of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the team said that the rumor “doesn’t deserve a response.”

But what Farnsworth wrote next makes us wonder whether the ‘Hawks are protesting too much, if Farnsworth is parroting something he was told by the club:  “If he is released, it would likely come after June 1 to spread the cap hit on the remaining proration of his signing bonuses over the next two years.”

Wrong.  Under the current CBA, two players per team can be cut before June 1, and the transactions can be processed as post-June 1 moves.

The better argument against releasing Alexander now is that the team would have more leverage to squeeze Alexander to take a lower salary if he’d be cut at a time after the bulk of the free-agency money has flowed.  It’s another reason why agents negotiating these long-term, big-money deals need to shift some of the salary money to roster bonus payments due in late February or early March.  Such terms force teams to decide sooner rather than later whether a change should be made.