Seattle Seahawks Must Dump Tarvaris Jackson Immediately

With the NFL offseason quickly approaching the free-agency period, which begins on March 13, the Seattle Seahawks are still unsettled at the quarterback position. 

Despite incumbent starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson remaining under contract for the 2012 season, Seahawks general manager John Schneider has already stated the team intends to pursue other options this offseason. 

In his first season as the Seahawks starting QB, “T-Jack” led the Seahawks to a respectable 7-9 record in 2011.  Although the Seahawks did notch seven wins with Jackson as their starting QB, it could be argued that the Seahawks reached seven wins in spite of Jackson not because of Jackson. 

Jackson’s 2011 season statistics paint a picture of mediocrity.  Out of 34 quarterbacks, Jackson ranked 21st in the NFL with a quarterback rating of 79.2. 

Similarly, Jackson ranked 26th in the NFL in passing yards per game, 206 yards per game, and 22nd in yards per attempt, 6.87.   Compounding matters is the fact that Jackson was the second most-sacked quarterback in the league in 2011.   

At 28 years old, he’ll be 29 when the 2012 season starts, and with over 50 starts in his career what Jackson showed in 2011 stands a strong chance of being what you get in 2012. 

With a young, talented roster that lacks pressing needs at other positions, sticking with Jackson in the 2012 season would be a mistake for the Seahawks.

Although the Seahawks feature a relatively young roster, the pieces are in place for a playoff run in 2012 and future years. 

While the defense emerged as one of the top units in the NFL in 2011, the offense was a middling unit in as inconsistency plagued the unit.  This can be attributed to Jackson, as the Seahawks often became one-dimensional due to the inconsistency in the passing game.

With an upgrade at the QB position, the Seahawks could become a legitimate contender for a playoff spot in 2012.  The Seahawks could potentially trade for a QB this offseason but the two likely ways through which the Seahawks will target a QB are the NFL Draft and free agency. 

Usually when a team is looking for a quarterback, the NFL Draft is the route used as the team sets out to build the team around the drafted QB.  That being said with the Seahawks roster as it is currently constructed the NFL Draft may not be the right route for the Seahawks.

Generally speaking, although the successes of recent rookie QB’s Andy Dalton, Cam Newton, Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan have gone against this, first-year quarterbacks struggle against NFL defenses. 

For a Seahawks team that is capable of winning now, this years NFL Draft isn’t likely to net the Seahawks an upgrade at QB for 2012. 

Behind Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, who will be off the board when the Seahawks pick 12th overall, this NFL Draft's crop of quarterbacks is filled with risk. 

The Seahawks could target a QB like Ryan Tannehill, Brock Osweiler or Kirk Cousins in the draft but these prospects are likely to need time to develop, even then there is no guarantee as to there growth as a QB in future years.

Due to the lack of strong options in the NFL Draft, the Seahawks' best option for upgrading the QB position is likely through free agency.  With Matt Flynn and potentially Peyton Manning available there are clear upgrades for the Seahawks to pursue on the free agent market. 

With the aforementioned lack of other needs on the roster, there is an opportunity to bid on the services of either QB.  The Seahawks would be well served to make a push for either of these quarterbacks, as either Flynn or Manning would make the Seahawks an instant contender in 2012 and future years.

To sign either Flynn or Manning the Seahawks should dump Jackson immediately to free additional cap flexibility, so the Seahawks can also be active in their pursuit of other free agents.  At $4 million per year Jackson would likely price himself out of a backup QB position if the Seahawks pursue another option at QB. 

Of course, both Flynn and Manning come with their own risks, Flynn has little experience (2 starts) and Manning is coming off of a serious neck injury, but for the Seahawks taking a chance with either Flynn or Manning could have enormous benefits.

Behind a healthy Peyton Manning who plays reasonably close to his pre-injury level, the Seahawks offense could easily surpass their 2011 output.  Same goes for if Flynn proves to be a legitimate starting QB, as he did in last year's record setting performance in Week 17.  

Obviously, these are both best-case scenarios, but both QB’s should warrant consideration if the Seahawks are serious about upgrading their QB position. 

To prevent the worst-case scenario of Manning not being healthy or Flynn not living up to the hype, the Seahawks could select a QB in the draft like the previously mentioned Osweiler, Tannehill or Cousins.

Keeping Tarvaris Jackson and potentially drafting a QB in a middle round appears to be the Seahawks plan right now, which wouldn’t help the offense now and doesn’t guarantee to help the offense in the future. 

Even if Manning can’t match his superior play prior to injury or Flynn isn’t as impressive as he was in his two starts, both likely, they would still likely be upgrades over what the Seahawks got at quarterback in 2011. 

Additionally, if the Seahawks selected a QB in the draft, like mentioned above, this QB would hopefully be developing with the given time to learn the nuances of the NFL. 

This is the essentially the same scenario as keeping Jackson for one more season and drafting a QB in this year's draft, except there is more upside.  It can be argued that there is also more risk, but there are also indications that both Manning and Flynn are worth the risk.

It is a risky proposition, but having a potential impact QB, such as Manning or Flynn, makes all the difference between contenders and pretenders.  Dumping Jackson and signing Manning or Flynn would give the Seahawks a chance to become a playoff contender in 2012 and future years