Tarvaris Jackson is in as the Seattle Seahawks next quarterback and Matt Hasselbeck is reportedly looking elsewhere. Aperson with knowledge of the situation told The Associated PressTuesday that Jackson has agreed to terms with the Seahawks and isexpected to sign a contract Friday. The person spoke on the conditionof anonymity because free agents aren't allowed to sign contracts untilFriday. The Seattle Times first reported Jackson's agreement.
Reports surfaced Tuesday afternoon that the Seahawks told Hasselbeck he was no longer in their future plans. Yahoo! Sports first reported the Hasselbeck decision on Twitter. Hasselbeck and his agent did not return messages left by the AP.
Thedecision to move on from Hasselbeck contradicted Seattle coach PeteCarroll's pronouncement in January that re-signing Hasselbeck wasSeattle's No. 1 priority. The two sides could not reach an agreementbefore the NFL lockout.
Hasselbeckspent the past 10 seasons in Seattle and for much of that time was theface of the franchise. He took the Seahawks to their only Super Bowlappearance and captained Seattle to five division titles. He leaves asthe team's all-time leader in numerous passing categories.
Butthe signs that Hasselbeck's time in Seattle could be coming to a closestarted a year ago when the team acquired Charlie Whitehurst from SanDiego. Whitehurst was supposed to challenge Hasselbeck for the jobbefore the 2010 season, but his only two starts last season came ingames Hasselbeck was injured. One of those starts was the season finalewhen Seattle beat St. Louis 16-6 to wrap up the NFC West title with a7-9 record.
Hasselbeck thenseemed to affirm his importance to the franchise by leading Seattle toa stunning NFC first-round playoff upset of New Orleans before theSeahawks lost to Chicago in the NFC divisional playoff. After thatloss, Carroll said the Seahawks' No. 1 priority was re-signingHasselbeck.
But it won't be Hasselbeck back under center when the season begins on Sept. 11 at San Francisco. Whitehurstwas one of the first Seahawks to arrive at their training facility onTuesday morning after catching a late flight back to the Northwest andnot getting to his apartment until about 1 a.m. Still, he was drivingthrough the gates of Seahawks headquarters shortly after 8 a.m. readyto pick up his playbook.
"You'remore experienced; it goes for all of us. There were a bunch of new guysthis past season," Whitehurst said. "I think everybody is probablyfeeling pretty confident about this season." Insteadof Whitehurst battling Hasselbeck for the starting job, it'll beJackson. Later in the day, after learning the reports of Hasselbeck'sdeparture, Whitehurst seemed to realize his chance. "It's as good an opportunity as I'm going to get and I'm looking forward to it," he said.
InMinneapolis, Jackson was ushered aside most of the last two seasons infavor of Brett Favre. Now he'll get a fresh start in Seattle and bereunited with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who is in charge ofrevamping Seattle's passing game. Bevell spent the previous fiveseasons as Minnesota's offensive coordinator.
Rustmight be a problem for Jackson. He's played in just 11 games andstarted only once the past two seasons after making 17 starts duringthe 2007 and `08 seasons. Hasselbeckhad been instrumental in organizing offseason workouts for players inthe Seattle area and working with the University of Washington on usingtheir facilities. Some players had been extremely outspoken on Twitterin urging the Seahawks to re-sign the veteran QB.
"Gottasay thanks for giving me a chance to get my career rolling," Seahawksreceiver Mike Williams wrote to Hasselbeck on Twitter Tuesdayafternoon. "U'll always Rep the 12th, see u in the Ring of Honor sir." RichMoran, the agent for Seahawks offensive lineman Stacy Andrews,confirmed Tuesday his client has been informed he will be released.Andrews was scheduled to make $5.25 million this season, but was likelyto be a backup after Seattle drafted linemen James Carpenter and JohnMoffitt.
The Seahawks alsoagreed to terms with 19 undrafted free agents on Tuesday. Highlightingthe list was Boise State safety Jeron Johnson, Nebraska safety RickeyThenarse and Nebraska defensive end Pierre Allen.
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