Mebane lives in the area, and the Seahawks want to retain him. There is also some clarity to his contractual situation that did not exist back in March.

Back then, it wasn't 100-percent certain that Mebane would be an unrestricted free agent. In 2010, under the rules of the uncapped year, a player needed six years of experience to qualify for unrestricted free agency. Mebane just finished his fourth year. There was a chance -- not a big one -- that the league could have operated under the 2010 rules. If that were the case, Mebane would have been a restricted free agent.

Under the new collective-bargaining agreement, players again need only four years of experience to qualify for unrestricted free agency.

So where do things stand with Seattle? Mebane's agent indicated that the "most in-depth conversations" on this first day teams can talk to players have been with Seattle.

That's not a guarantee anything will get done, but clearly Mebane is a priority and his hope is to remain with the Seahawks.