Future Shock -- Seahawk Kelly Stouffer's Future Could All Be Behind Him Now

Once considered the quarterback of the future, Kelly Stouffer now wonders whether he has any future at all with the Seattle Seahawks.

Quarterbacks drafted in the first round by NFL teams generally become starters fairly early in their careers. But Stouffer has watched a parade of young prospects rise to stardom while he sits.

Of nine quarterbacks drafted in the first round the past four years, Stouffer and Andre Ware of Detroit are the only ones not starting. Ware, a Heisman Trophy winner, was a rookie last season.

The experience has been frustrating and humbling for Stouffer. It is particularly difficult for someone judged the sixth-best college player in the country in 1987.

Stouffer got into uniform only once last season while Dave Krieg took every snap in every game. Inactive for 15 games, Stouffer was paid $700,000 to hold a clipboard and function as the scout team quarterback in Seahawk practice sessions.

``I don't know what my future holds,'' Stouffer said yesterday. ``But I don't want to spend the prime years of my career inactive. I'm not going to demand to be traded or anything like that. I've thought about it, but that's not the proper way to handle it.''

Stouffer, who will be 27 next season, retreated to his family's home in Rushville, Neb., to do some bird hunting and reflect on his situation with relatives and friends.

``Seattle is where my wife and I want to be, and the Seahawks are the team I want to play for,'' he said. ``(But) what I feel they have to do is get out of me what they brought me here for. I have to have the opportunity to be in there. Look at the quarterbacks excelling now. You have to get time on the field to get the opportunity to learn. Nobody hits the field running. You have to play through your mistakes, or whatever.''

With Stouffer's contract rising to $800,000 next season, how long will Seahawk owner Ken Behring want to pay that amount to someone not even in uniform?

``That's a good question,'' Tom Flores, team president, said. ``I can't answer that right now.''

The Seahawks spent a first-round draft choice and two fifth-rounders for Stouffer when they acquired him from the Phoenix Cardinals three years ago. He seemed destined to replace Krieg. Now there is a question whether he still is a top prospect.

``I hope so,'' Flores said. ``But he had the opportunity in preseason and it just didn't happen.''

Stouffer's opportunities were limited, however, in exhibition games. In one of his starts, a downpour all but wiped out the first half in Phoenix. Stouffer says it's difficult to make an impression in half of a preseason game.

``I have to get to the point where I'll be on the field and relax and not play tentatively,'' he said. ``In preseason, given half a football, you tend to try to make too much happen at any one time. Of the young quarterbacks playing now, they all were given the opportunity to get on the field. There has to be a trust and confidence in you.''

Vinny Testaverde is starting in Tampa Bay, Jim Harbaugh in Chicago, Chris Miller in Atlanta, Troy Aikman in Dallas, Timm Rosenbach in Phoenix, Steve Walsh in New Orleans and Jeff George in Indianapolis. All were first-round draft choices since 1987, when Stouffer was the sixth player taken, by the Cardinals, and sat out the season in a contractual dispute with owner Bill Bidwill.

Stouffer started six games as a rookie, when Krieg was injured, and performed well as the Seahawks went 3-3. His best game statistically was in a losing effort against New Orleans, when he passed for 370 yards to set an NFL rookie record. He started two games in 1989 when Krieg was benched and since has watched his playing time dwindle to zero.

Krieg, 32, was the only QB in the league to throw all of his team's passes last year. As long as he stays healthy and productive, that isn't likely to change.

``My situation is that I don't know what situation they'll ever expect me to play in, if they think Dave has quality years left and they're just putting me on the shelf for that time.''

Coach Chuck Knox says Stouffer's lack of playing time does not mean the young quarterback has regressed as a prospect.

``I think he's got a future,'' Knox said. ``It's hard to say. I think he's a guy you've got to put in there and play. When he started those six games, we went three and three. It remains to be seen. Kelly has to be ready when the opportunity comes. He has to take the football and do something with it. Only time will tell.''

Stouffer says what he did as a rookie reflects his true potential.

``I played when I didn't expect to play,'' he said. ``I think what I did then is what I'm capable of. I had success personally and we were successful as a team. Now I have knowledge of the offense and don't have the opportunity. It's really frustrating.

``But you can't just step on the field and rank as a starter. Among the top six or seven quarterbacks in the league, the only one close to doing that was Dan Marino. It just doesn't happen like that. It has to do with leadership, everyone else knowing you're the guy who is going to get it done. Right now, Dave is the only one in that situation. The players respond differently to the No. 1 quarterback than to anyone else.''

Stouffer's salary is not extraordinary for a backup. Ware was paid $2.5 million by Detroit while Rodney Peete played. Steve Young received $1.1 million from San Francisco, although he seldom subbed for Joe Montana.

Stouffer has two years remaining on his contract. In the unlikely event he becomes Seattle's starter, however, he has the right to renegotiate after next season.

Stouffer's wife, Barb, and friends and relatives in Rushville have been supportive, he said.

``They kind of have mixed feelings. They're able to deal with it as long as I can. They enjoy the fact I'm getting an opportunity to be on an NFL team and they're proud of what's happened. Some wish I'd get traded, so I could get an opportunity to play.''

Although his confidence was shaken last summer, Stouffer said he doesn't doubt his ability.

``I didn't play as well in the preseason as I'd have liked,'' he said. ``You do lose confidence. You feel like you have to set the world on fire. But, given the opportunity, I can do the job, if I'm in there week after week. I'm not blowing my own horn, but I feel quite capable of doing that. I think I have some things to add to our

offense that would be beneficial.''

Someday, Seahawk fans might see what they are.

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FIRST-ROUND PICKS

-- The current status of quarterbacks selected in the first round of the NFL draft since 1987:

YEAR PICK TEAM STATUS

;

Jeff George 1990 1st Indianapolis Starter ;

Andre Ware 1990 7th Detroit Backup ;

Troy Aikman 1989 1st Dallas Starter ;

Steve Walsh 1989 1st # New Orleans Starter ;

Timm Rosenbach 1989 2nd # Phoenix Starter ;

Kelly Stouffer 1987 6th ## Seattle Backup ;

Chris Miller 1987 13th Atlanta Starter ;

Jim Harbaugh 1987 26th Chicago Starter ;

;

;

# -supplemental draft; ## -traded from Phoenix