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Long snapper Robinson returns to Seahawks; Houser out for season

RENTON, Wash. -- For the third time in the last three seasons, the Seattle Seahawks brought in Jeff Robinson to be their long snapper.

Robinson signed with the team Tuesday to replace Kevin Houser.

Houser was placed on season-ending injured reserve after suffering a collapsed lung during the Seahawks' 24-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Houser went to the hospital following the game, and a team spokesman said that he was still there as of Tuesday afternoon.

"I feel bad for Kevin, and that's a serious deal," Robinson said. "Obviously the situation with the team isn't super great either, so I'm just happy to fill in and glad the organization had me back."

Robinson was working with his wife's health-and-wellness business and caring for their 2-year old daughter, May Louise, when the Seahawks came calling again.

"The thing that's good about Jeff is that I know him well, having coached him before," Seahawks special-teams coach Bruce DeHaven said. "You know probably what you're going to get unless he's gone to pieces in a year, which he hasn't. He came out here and snapped very good today."

Houser had played well for the Seahawks before being injured Sunday. He was hurt while covering a punt against the Bucs during the second quarter. He returned to snap on an extra-point attempt at the end of the first half, then took the field again in the third quarter to snap on a punt.

Tampa Bay's Sammie Stroughter broke a return up the sideline, and Houser made a diving attempt to tackle him but came up empty. Houser remained down on the sideline and later was taken to the locker room.

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"When he came off the field after that third punt, I knew something was wrong," Seahawks punter Jon Ryan said. "He is tougher than a two-dollar steak, that kid. He wanted to keep on going in there, and eventually the doctors almost had to physically remove him from the sideline because he would have kept on going with a collapsed lung.

"That's like old-time NFL football right there, a guy playing with a collapsed lung and won't come out."

Houser was replaced by 180-pound cornerback Kelly Jennings as the Seahawks' long snapper for the remainder of the game.

Seattle has struggled to fill the long snapper position since Jean-Philippe Darche left for the Kansas City Chiefs via free agency after the 2006 season. Derek Rackley and Boone Stutz weren't able to keep the job, and the team had to bring in Robinson late in the 2007 season.

The Seahawks then took Tyler Schmitt in the sixth round of the 2008 draft in an attempt to end the problems. However, Schmitt had several back problems as a rookie and never snapped in a game.

When Tim Lindsay didn't work out as a replacement, the Seahawks brought back Robinson out of retirement for a second time.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press