"The Seahawks will have to wait until Monday morning for T.J. Houshmandzadeh's decision on his free-agent destination. As will the Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals and everyone else interested in where the top-rated wide receiver in this year's free-agency class will land.

Houshmandzadeh had planned toa team by Sunday night, but the decision was postponed, his agent, Kennard McGuire, said late Sunday.

In the meantime, the Seahawks signed their top free-agent priority Sunday: Colin Cole, a 335-pound defensive tackle who played the previous five seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

Not the big-name player Houshmandzadeh is, but the big-bodied player the Seahawks needed in the middle of their defensive line.

Cole was the first player the Seahawks scheduled for a visit. Houshmandzadeh pushed for his Friday visit, despite knowing that the club was limited in how much it could spend in free agency.

Each side liked what it saw, so Cole signed a five-year, $21 million contract that includes $5 million in guarantees.

While that might sound like a lot for a player who never has been a full-time starter, Cole's bulk and strength will make him a starter. He will slide in next to Brandon Mebane, at the spot that opened when the club decided not to re-sign free agent Rocky Bernard -- who signed with the New York Giants on Saturday. Red Bryant and Craig Terrill will be the other tackles in the rotation.

The Packers weren't just trying to re-sign Cole; at the recent NFL scouting combine coach Mike McCarthy listed retaining his services as the team's top priority in free agency -- especially with the Packers shifting to a 3-4 front.

"I like Cole," he said. "If any of our guys plays very square, he does. I think he can be a nose in our scheme, and I think he has the ability to bounce outside and play the end. He's been a pretty versatile guy."

Cole, 28, now brings that versatility to a Seahawks defense that ranked 30th in the NFL last season and a line that had problems keeping blockers off middle linebacker and leading tackler Lofa Tatupu.

As one league scout put it when asked about Cole, "Not overly athletic, but athletic enough. He keeps the linebackers clean."

As for Bernard, the best of his seven seasons with the Seahawks coincided with the best season in franchise history -- 2005, when the team made a run to the Super Bowl and Bernard had career highs in sacks (8 1/2 ).

But the Seahawks had decided to "go in another direction," as they say, and so did Bernard.

"I was looking for a fresh start," he told the New York Daily News after signing what is believed to be a four-year, $16 million contract. "Last year was really rough. It was so frustrating. I thought a change of scenery would be good.""