Tarvaris Jackson, who was Seattle’s starting quarterback last season, will not play in the Seahawks’ second preseason game on Saturday against Denver, but coach Pete Carroll told reporters on Tuesday that Jackson is still in the competition to be the Seahawks’ regular-season starter.
Carroll said Tuesday he will follow the same plan as in the first preseason game, which means Matt Flynn will start and play the first half, and Russell Wilson will play the second half.
Jackson did not play in the first preseason game against Tennessee and is not scheduled to play against the Broncos either.
It makes it appear that Jackson is not in contention for the starting spot or that he may be traded. But Carroll says Jackson is still involved.
“He’s still in the competition, yes. Absolutely he is,” Carroll said. “This is just the way I’ve chosen to do it. I’m banking on the 18 games we’ve seen [Jackson]. He knows the offense, he knows what’s going on, and I watched him play last year practicing one day a week for five weeks, and he could function. I’m using all of that information to allow us the opportunity to see the other guys. . . This is what the plan was all along if it worked out, and it has.”
Even though he is not scheduled to play on Saturday, Jackson practiced with the first-team offense on Tuesday.
Asked why Wilson is not starting, Carroll said, “I think this is where they sit right now. This is kind of what I thought would happen. I did consider that as one of the possibilities, and it was going to be based on making the progress that we’re making. Matt’s done a really good job of commanding all of the stuff. He understands the game in great depth, and he gives us a veteran presence even though he hasn’t had a lot of starting time, because he recognizes defense, he’s well into the whole understanding of what’s going on on the other side of the ball, and it’s still a struggle for Russell to catch up with all of that stuff. He’s battling to get that done, and there’s a difference right now.”