By The Associated Press

Shaun Alexander has reduced by one the number of potential big-name training camp holdouts.

The Seattle running back, who fell a yard short of the NFL rushing title last season, signed a one-year deal worth $6.32 million as the team’s franchise player. In return, the Seahawks agreed not to slap the restrictive franchise tag on him next season.

“We’re excited to have him in the fold,” club president Tim Ruskell said in a statement on the team’s Web site. “This is great for the team, and we look forward to seeing him practice on Friday.”

Alexander is coming off a franchise-record 1,696 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns last season, but barely missed the NFL rushing title won by the Jets’ Curtis Martin.

He criticized Mike Holmgren after Seattle’s season-ending win over Atlanta, saying he was “stabbed in the back” because the coach called a quarterback sneak that Alexander felt cost him the rushing crown. He later apologized for the remarks.

Meanwhile, hours after Green Bay shareholders told Packers executives not to give in to another potential holdout, Javon Walker, the wide receiver showed up at training camp.

At their annual meeting, at least a dozen shareholders told general manager Ted Thompson to hold the line on the wide receiver; the Packers are refusing to renegotiate his contract.

Not one of them told Thompson to give in to Walker’s demands for a hefty pay raise from the $515,000 he’s scheduled to make this season. And team president Bob Harlan, who greeted stockholders after the packed meeting, said he got the same one-sided advice.

Then, a team official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to The Associated Press that Walker had reported after Walker was spotted at the Green Bay airport, where he told a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “tell everyone I’m coming in.”

The Carolina Panthers will give Rod Gardner a physical on Thursday, and if he passes, the team will complete a trade with Washington for the wide receiver.

The 6-foot-2, 213-pound Gardner didn’t like his role in the Washington offense and he caught only 51 passes for 650 yards and five touchdowns in 2004. Washington’s coaches did not seem to fight Gardner’s request for a trade; the Redskins were expected to release Gardner anyway to free up more than $2.1 million in cap money.

Two-time NFL rushing champ Edgerrin James reported on time to Colts camp Wednesday, team officials said. But James took the mysterious route.

Instead of driving into the players’ parking lot at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, James sneaked into camp undetected for the second straight year. There were no actual sightings by the larger than usual media contingent.

James, a three-time Pro Bowler, became a free agent in February. The Colts then placed the franchise tag on him, and in March, James signed a one-year deal worth slightly more than $8 million. Agent Drew Rosenhaus said James wants a long-term deal.

Elsewhere:

• In a move strange only because of the way it was confirmed, the Steelers signed their first-round pick, tight end Heath Miller. While the team’s public relations department declined to acknowledge the signing, Dan Rooney, the team’s owner, did so during a conversation with The Associated Press on other matters.

• A group of second-round picks also signed, including linebacker Barrett Ruud of Tampa Bay, and cornerbacks Justin Miller of the New York Jets and Kelvin Hayden of Indianapolis, and wide receiver Reggie Brown with Philadelphia.

• Carolina signed third-round pick Atiyyah Ellison, a defensive lineman. New Orleans signed another third-rounder, linebacker Alfred Fincher, and Kansas City signed its third-rounder, punter Dustin Colquitt.