First, a quick programming note. Starting tomorrow, I’m taking some time off to get married this weekend, then go on a honeymoon. I bring this up not in order to get an RGIII haul of presents, but rather explain the lack of content in this space between now and early July.
OK, back to football. As pretty much everyone knows by now, the Seahawks are expected to sign Tarvaris Jackson tomorrow, bringing back their starting quarterback from 2011 to compete for the backup job in 2013.
When the Seahawks traded Jackson last year, it made sense. Russell Wilson had won the starting job, and Matt Flynn had just been signed to a fairly substantial contract, but logical or not, his departure was tough on many of his teammates. Jackson wasn’t spectacular in 2011, but he certainly won the respect of his teammates, particularly for the way he played through a partially torn pectoral muscle for most of the season.
Here’s what Sidney Rice, Jackson’s teammate in both Seattle and Minnesota, had to say about Jackson’s return:
“It’s great. I don’t think he ever wanted to leave here. It’s a great opportunity for him to be here, he’s got a lot of friends here. Everybody was kind of upset when he left, so we’ll welcome him back with open arms.”
On Jackson playing through injury: “He’s a tough guy. The things he did for us, playing with a torn pectoral muscle throughout the season, not saying a word, just coming in every day ready to work. With the situation he was in, still being in tune to everything shows a lot about his character.”
And Doug Baldwin, who was Seattle’s leading receiver as a rookie catching passes from Jackson:
“He was one of my closest buds on the team. His presence in the locker room is different; he’s a character, but he’s a leader as well. Regardless of his role on the team, he’ll be welcomed back with open arms, because he’s a great guy.”
“His knowledge of the game is impressive. He has this vast knowledge of the game, he helped me tremendously when I was a rookie, so it’s going to be exciting to have him back.”
On playing through the injury: “It’s what Pete tries to embody, always compete, always push through what you can. You’re going to play through pain, and Tarvaris embodied that. He was a warrior out there, fighting through an injury that most guys would have shut it down with. Guys looked at that and they respected that and they appreciated that. He’ll be welcomed here with open arms.”
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