The Seattle Seahawks have added Julius Jones to their stable of running backs, a move that further minimizes the presence of Shaun Alexander and possibly Maurice Morris.

The Seahawks agreed to terms with Jones, previously of the Dallas Cowboys, Friday night.

Media reports are conflicting about what this does to Alexander’s roster spot. The Seattle Times reports that there is room under the Hawks’ salary cap to carry both backs. Rotoworld.com is reporting that Alexander will likely be a post-July 1 roster cut – a move that would save the team more than $4 million under the cap.

But what is clear is that Alexander’s days as a feature back and a fantasy football stud, at least for now, are over. Alexander had missed nine games the past two seasons. And the Seahawks had already added T.J. Duckett, a big, short-yardage back, earlier in the week.

Jones, on the other hand, comes with fresh legs. He rushed for 1,084 yards in 2006 but had lost time to Marion Barber III in Dallas and was reportedly looking for a fresh start. He’s never had more than 267 carries in a season. But he has shown flashes of the ability to be a franchise back.

He closed the 2004 campaign, his rookie year, with 22 or more carries in each of the last seven games, including a trio of consecutive games where he ripped off 429 yards and five touchdowns on 93 carries.

While it’s speculation at this point, from a fantasy perspective Jones at this point would seem the odds-on candidate to lead the team in carries in 2008, assuming Alexander is eventually released. Duckett, however, could steal many of the goal-line carries, leading to another dreaded running back-by-committee situation.

Seattle coach Mike Holmgren nearly abandoned the running game at times during the 2007 season. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had a great year but the team was eliminated from the playoffs by Green Bay in the divisional round.