Seahawks reportedly hope to re-sign Tarvaris Jackson

Tarvaris Jackson returned to the Seahawks as a free agent in 2013 after they had traded him to Buffalo in 2012, and he played a key backup role to Russell Wilson for Seattle's Championship run. He now may find himself with a chance at an encore performance as the Seahawks steady veteran reserve quarterback. Jackson is set to become a free agent, but according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, the Seahawks want him back and there's mutual interest there.

"Poised to become a free agent on March 11, Jackson currently is expected to sign a new contract to remain in Seattle," Florio reports. "Per a league source, Jackson wants to remain the backup to Russell Wilson, and the team wants him to stay."

Originally unhappy to be traded by the team he started for in 2011, Jackson put aside any grudges to re-sign with the Seahawks after spending a year third on the depth chart in Buffalo.

"I thought about it, but I'm not even looking back," Jackson told the Montgomery Advertiser this week. "Whatever happened there was meant to happen for me to go back to Seattle. For some reason, it just felt right. I always felt like I was going back anyway. The way things were shaping up in Buffalo, I was figuring they would draft a quarterback. That was the way things were shifting.

"I could have been in Buffalo and probably would have been playing, but now I'm with the Super Bowl champions. The competitive side of me always wants to be playing, but me being a team player and the champion I am, I think it's great to have that championship under your belt because it creates different avenues for you for the rest of your life."

When asked about re-signing with the Hawks (and prior to Florio's report coming out), Jackson replied, "It's a possibility. I know there is some interest there on both sides. Just the way it ended (last season), I would think so but I know it's a business. I know there are other guys they are obligated to trying to get (signed to new contracts), but I'd love to go back. I understand that at the same time, I might have to move on. We'll see."

"Obviously, you'd like to have the opportunity to go (somewhere and) start and be a starter and play, but at the same time, it's a good situation in Seattle. I'd rather stay than keep moving around and bouncing around."

Jackson is one of the league's better backup quarterback options, particularly for Seattle, as he has played in Darrell Bevell's offense for his entire career. Further, he is loved and appreciated by the fans here in Seattle for his play in '11 as he fought through a torn pectoral. I'm guessing the Hawks would love to re-sign Jackson as the frontrunner for the job, with the hopes of pushing B.J. Daniels in competition, and Jackson's ability to run the offense relatively efficiently, while it could really only be appreciated if Wilson got hurt, is a valuable enough commodity to pay Jackson a little more to stick in Seattle. Jackson made $840k against the cap last year.