When Tarvaris Jackson was released by the Buffalo Bills earlier this week it didn’t take long to connect the dots and think that the Seattle Seahawks could likely be a landing-place for Jackson.
Jackson - the Seahawks starting quarterback in 2011 - lost a three-way battle for the starting job last year to Russell Wilson and Matt Flynn. The Seahawks weren’t going to keep Jackson on the roster as a third-string quarterback when he was scheduled to make $4 million in base salary last year. He was traded to Buffalo for a seventh-round draft pick and served as a backup to Ryan Fitzpatrick last season.
A year later, Jackson all of a sudden made a lot of sense for Seattle. The team announced Thursday night Jackson had officially agreed to terms on a one-year deal
Jackson had earned the respect of his teammates by playing the majority of the 2011 season with a torn pectoral muscle and winning seven games as the team’s starter. With Wilson firmly entrenched as the Seahawks’ starter, Jackson would be rejoining the team with a clear understanding of his role on the team.
Though the move wasn’t official after the conclusion of Seattle’s mini-camp on Thursday, head coach Pete Carroll spoke about the team trying to bring Jackson back to Seattle.
“We thought of Tarvaris as a tremendously tough football player and competitive kid that battled for us. We’re a little better than we were in those days so we bring him back with the thought that he’ll make this a very competitive situation,” Carroll said. “He’ll compete with Brady Quinn, and that will be a really good battle for us.”
Carroll said the signing of Jackson isn’t a reflection on the job Quinn has done this offseason. That being said, if Quinn had alleviated all concerns about his ability to backup Wilson the Seahawks may not have pursued Jackson again.
Jackson knows the Seahawks system and organization well and should being to hit the ground running with the team when training camp opens in July.
“We’re just seizing the opportunity to that one of our guys is out there and we can bring him back in and he’ll be able to help us,” Carroll said.
