Olivea cleared -- and should be coveted

Shaun Alexander, Kevin Jones and Ron Dayne are still searching for work, but Shane Olivea's name will likely be mentioned more than all three combined in the offices of general managers leading up to training camp.

Olivea was cut by San Diego in February after losing his starting right tackle job to rookie Jeromey Clary in November. He was generating interest from San Francisco, among other teams, but didn't sign a deal and was then suspended on June 20 for violating the league's substance abuse program. That meant a team that signed Olivea would be without his services for the first four games of the regular season.

That suspension was rescinded Thursday, and Olivea will be coveted by several teams. He lost his job in San Diego in large part because he tends to be streaky, but Olivea does play with a nasty streak. And 26-year-old right tackles who have started 57 of 60 career regular-season games aren't easy to come by in July.

Expect Olivea to be scooped up quickly by a team looking for him to compete for a starting job.

Jobs of any kind are proving difficult for the trio of running backs to come by. Alexander clearly lost a step -- or two -- during his final two injury-plagued seasons in Seattle, and he and Dayne will have to accept backup roles if they're going to be in the league in 2008.

Jones has been diligently rehabbing from ACL surgery five months ago, and recently held a workout in front of representatives from Miami, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Detroit. He ran the shuttle and cones and caught some passes. If he can prove he is healthy enough to at least participate in non-contact drills by early August, he should end up in someone's camp early enough to compete for significant carries.