Seattle Seahawks Sign Tarvaris Jackson
Earlier this offseason, the Seattle Seahawks made the decision to move versatile quarterback B.J. Daniels to wide receiver. The move made a bit of sense – Daniels’ best tool isn’t his throwing arm, and his ability to play multiple positions wasn’t particularly important to the flexibility of the team’s final roster. Moving him off quarterback allowed him to focus on other areas of his game. It also created a need for a backup quarterback.
Maybe that need was already there even when Daniels projected as the starter. The other main option was R.J. Archer, who’s seen more time in the Arena League than anywhere else since college. Backup quarterback is an unimportant position until it suddenly becomes the most important position, and so the team would have been wrong to rely on either of those two in the event of an injury to Russell Wilson. Which is why they’re re-signing Tarvaris Jackson, according to this tweet from Mike Garafolo.
Jackson is a Seahawk whom all of us know and many of us love. He was absolutely underwhelming as a starter in 2011, but has been an ideal backup since returning to Seattle in 2013. When called on to play, he’s been good. If Russ were to be inactive for any period of time, Jackson could step up and start. He’s been the right man for the job, and apparently he still is.
With Jackson you have a familiar face who knows the organization well, which in part explains why he was willing to re-sign. Playing time obviously isn’t much of a factor here, since in a perfect world the backup QB is on the field only in the fourth quarter of blowout wins. That Jackson is back must indicate that Jackson doesn’t hate Seattle. Which is good! I like Seattle, and I hope everyone else does, too!
The biggest thing here is that if Wilson gets hurt, the ‘Hawks won’t have to scramble for a replacement. The hypothetical replacement is T-Jax, just as it’s been for the last two years. That’s an NFL-quality quarterback, and one who’s probably a hair better than some of the league’s worst starters. He’s a good guy to have on the bench, and the ‘Hawks are lucky he’s here.
The second-biggest thing is that Daniels is now fully, 100% off the quarterback position. He was never going to be of much help as a QB, but as a wide receiver he’s plenty intriguing. Can he flourish in his new role? Sure hope so!
Welcome back, Tarvaris Jackson. A lot of people expected this move, and now that it’s here I think we can all breathe a collective (albeit small) breath of relief. Everyone likes Jackson, and now he’s back. Beats the heck out of the alternatives.
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