Though his release by the Seattle Seahawks initially was met with the soothing melody of crickets rubbing their wings together, running back Shaun Alexander is suddenly hearing the chirping of a cell phone instead.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that Alexander will follow his visit with the Cincinnati Bengals with a trip to New Orleans, where he’ll visit with the Saints.

The interest in Alexander should be regarded as a bad sign for running back Deuce McAllister, who is recovering from his second torn ACL in three seasons.  If Alexander signs, McAllister could be scuttled.

The broader question with Alexander is whether anyone will offer him a deal that he’ll deem to be worthy of his abilities.  Our guess is that, in the end, he’ll ink a multi-year deal that will appear to be a big-money package but that on closer inspection will be essentially a one-year deal with a reasonable base salary and lots of incentives.

As we see it, there’s no need for Alexander to rush the process.  He’ll avoid all offseason workouts and mandatory minicamps if he doesn’t sign with a team, and his leverage in one or more cities could increase significantly if/when one of the top tailbacks blows out a knee during those non-contact contact practices.