If he makes the team, Mare will replace Josh Brown, who left for the St. Louis Rams at the beginning of the free-agency period.

It is unclear if Mare has been given the job or if he will compete for it in training camp against other players yet to enter the picture.

General manager Tim Ruskell had said he would like to sign a veteran and either select a player in the upcoming draft or sign an undrafted rookie and have them compete for the spot vacated when Brown departed for the Seahawks’ division rival.

After signing running backs Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett, re-signing cornerback Marcus Trufant and linebacker Lofa Tatupu and adding depth with linebacker D.D. Lewis and defensive end Chris Cooper, placekicker was the most glaring hole on the Seahawks roster.

They still need to acquire a tight end, but Ruskell is expected to do that through the draft.

Mare had visited Denver on Wednesday and was offered a contract by the Broncos, who need a kicker after Jason Elam left for Atlanta.

But Mare, who was released by New Orleans because he declined to take a pay cut from his $1.5 million salary, spurned Denver’s offer and signed with Seattle.

Mare, 34 years old and a product of Syracuse, is likely to be a step down from the clutch kicking of Brown; Mare made 10 of 17 field-goal attempts last season, while Brown made 28 of 34.

However, Mare should provide the Seahawks with better kickoff coverage. Mare put almost 30 percent of his kickoffs in the end zone.

Prior to joining the Saints in 2007, Mare played 10 seasons for Miami, leaving as the Dolphins’ all-time leader in field goals (245), scoring (1,048) and field-goal accuracy (.809, 245-of-303). He has six 100-point seasons.

Mare made the Pro Bowl in 1999, when he set a then-NFL record with 39 field goals.

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