SEATTLE -- Veteran tackle Ron Essink, who has walked out of Seattle's training camp, may be traded under a tentative agreement reached with the Dallas Cowboys, Seahawk officials said.
The trade depends on whether Essink still wants to play football, Seahawks President Mike McCormack said Friday.
Essink, a Seahawk for seven years, left the Seattle training camp in Kirkland, Wash., on Thursday. After asking to talk to Seahawks Coach Chuck Knox and finding out he was in a meeting, Essink told McCormack he wanted to leave.
'They're actively pursuing (a trade),' McCormack said of the Cowboys. Dallas tried to trade for Essink during the NFL draft last April, said Knox, who indicated the deal involves a draft choice.
Cowboy officials already have talked with Essink's agents, Bob Evans and Bob Beswick, and said there is a good chance he could become their starting left tackle.
Elbow problems cost Essink that position and regular play last season. The senior Seattle offensive lineman in terms of starts and games played, Essink has undergone a series of elbow operations since 1985.
This year, he has been sidelined with a pulled groin muscle since the second day of training camp.
Even if he had not been injured this year, Essink would have had trouble breaking into the starting lineup. Ron Mattes has continued to prove an upcoming player since his rookie season when he took over Essink's job last season.
Essink, 29, was drafted by the Seahawks on the 10th round in 1980 out of Grand Valley (Mich.) State.
