AP

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Charlie Frye (5) hands off to Seahawks running back Julius Jones, right, in the first quarter Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008, in an NFL football exhibition game against the Chicago Bears at Qwest Field in Seattle.

SEATTLE - Mike Holmgren wanted quarterback Charlie Frye to get an extended summer test to see if he could trust him if need be when the games get real.

First test score: Incomplete.

Frye, the former Cleveland Browns starter mothballed on Seattle's third-string since last September, completed 20 of 35 passes for 209 yards with three interceptions while playing all of the Seahawks' 29-26 preseason victory over the Chicago Bears on Saturday night.

Pro Bowl passer Matt Hasselbeck was in uniform but rested his stiff back. No. 2 quarterback Seneca Wallace had a tight groin. So Holmgren saw if Frye can handle the offense so the coach can free the dynamic Wallace to be a receiver and kick returner this season. Holmgren's wanted to use Wallace that way for years, but hasn't had a third-stringer he could trust.

Does he now?

Holmgren held off definitive evaluations of Frye until after he watched the game tape Sunday.

"Obviously, we can't throw that many interceptions. That's bad," Holmgren said. "His decision-making was OK for the first time of playing a whole game. But I expect a lot out of quarterbacks. But we'll see where he is."

One of Frye's interceptions came after he escaped two would-be sacks in his own end zone and then clucked a desperate heave in the general direction of T.J. Duckett. Corey Graham returned that 6 yards for a touchdown to give Chicago its first lead, 12-9 in the third quarter.

"You probably don't throw that one. I think he would agree," Holmgren said.

It's the kind of play that got Frye traded out of his hometown last September, when the Browns became the first team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to deal its starting quarterback immediately after Week 1.

"That's an awful feeling when you do something like that. But I fought back, and the offense fought back," Frye said, adding he was audibling for the first time since college at Akron.

"I think I got some great experience."

The Seahawks started changing Frye's throwing mechanics last fall, having him bend his knee more before he throws. So, he said, there may be more rough spells like Saturday night in his summer audition.

"That is something about me," he said. "It may not look pretty, but I am going to try to get the job done. And that is something that I have been able to do for a while."

FORSETT'S PUSH: It happens almost every summer, a rookie makes an unexpected push for a roster spot that's not really available.

This summer, it's Justin Forsett.

The diminutive, seventh-round draft choice darted for 136 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown Saturday that briefly put the Seahawks ahead 26-19 with 5:22 remaining in regulation. On a steamy night with temperatures in the high 80s, he also added 117 on seven punt and kickoff returns -- including a 40-yard punt return through flailing Bears.

Afterward, he limped from the shower back to his locker.

Tired? Or hurt?

"Definitely tired," Forsett said. "I got my toe stepped on, but that's it. Definitely tired."

Forsett's chances to make the team seemed to dim when Bobby Engram broke his shoulder last week. The record-setting receiver from 2007 may not be back until October, but the Seahawks are going to carry him on the active roster to begin the regular season, in case he comes back earlier. They are going to do the same thing with Deion Branch, who is recovering from reconstructive surgery on his knee and may not be back for the opener Sept. 7 at Buffalo.

That means one or maybe two fewer roster spots are available than previously thought. Final cuts must be made by Aug. 30.

"That will be a tough call at the end. He will be involved in that decision at the end, absolutely," Holmgren said of Forsett. "Right now, if I said anything about the roster, it would be premature. ... I like the player, and his teammates like him and he produces. But it is a couple of games and we have a ways to go here."

Forsett just keeps on running, breaking tackles and impressing everyone including his coaches.

"They said I did a good job," Forsett said. "I've got to go back and look at the tape. I know I made some mistakes out there tonight, too. So I'm trying to learn from them, trying to get better."

As for him being listed at 5-feet-8 but looking shorter, Forsett just smiled.

"I get that all the time," he said. "I'm not going to grow any taller. I mean, the doctor told me I was going to be 6-2, but that didn't happen. So I'm just working with what I got. God blessed me, so I'm just here to seize every opportunity I get."

JONES-MORRIS: Holmgren keeps saying he has co-starters at running back. Saturday night, former Cowboys lead runner Julius Jones started and rushed for 32 yards on seven carries. He also caught one pass for nine yards. He was in for 17 plays.

Asked what tips the co-starter had for Forsett, Jones said, "I'm going to get some from him. He showed up ... I'm proud of him.

"He plays like my little brother out there."

Maurice Morris, who had 62 yards on six carries while starting last week at Minnesota, gained 7 yards on four carries and caught two passes for 15 yards against Chicago. He was in for 12 plays.

QUICK HITS: Starting RT Sean Locklear sprained his knee early in the game. Holmgren said the initial read from team doctors is Locklear should be back for the opener, but that more tests are needed. ... The loudest cheers from the home crowd through a mostly uneventful first 2 1/2 quarters came when the scoreboard showed superstar swimming Michael Phelps had won his eighth gold medal of the Beijing Olympics Saturday.