What Can Buffalo Bills Expect from Tarvaris Jackson?

The Buffalo Bills' acquisition of Tarvaris Jackson meant the end for Vince Young and could ultimately be the reason Tyler Thigpen is cut. 

According to NFL.com's Albert Breer, the deal has been completed as the financial terms have been agreed upon:

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Tarvaris Jackson has reached a contract agreement w/Bills, which will complete the trade with Seattle. Can make up to $3 million this year.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 27, 2012"

Breer's next tweet stated "Jackson had been set to make $4 million, this cuts it to a max of $3 million, and the contract still expires this year."

Soon thereafter, Young essentially announced his release with this tweet to his 145,000 followers:

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"I want to thank the Bills organization for the opportunity and wish the organization and my teammates good luck this season".

— Vince Young (@VinceYoung) August 27, 2012"

Firstly, and most importantly, the trade for Jackson doesn't put Ryan Fitzpatrick's starting job in jeopardy. At all. Yes, I needed to include that tidbit, because when the news broke Sunday evening, there was a small Twitter contingent who wondered if Jackson was brought in to compete with Buffalo's incumbent No. 1 quarterback.

However, Jackson will either take the spot of Young or Thigpen on the quarterback depth chart, with Brad Smith already entrenched as the team's No. 3 signal-caller. 

Neither Young nor Thigpen impressed throughout training camp or the preseason—actually, they've been extremely underwhelming. 

Young, who was signed to a one-year, $2 million deal in May, has thrown two interceptions in three exhibition outings and outside of a 64-yard completion to rookie T.J. Graham against the Minnesota Vikings, he's been out of sync with his receivers and relatively inaccurate. 

The same goes for Thigpen, a guy who's appeared to be even more flustered in three preseason appearances. 

Now, a deal for a backup quarterback is rarely met with a host of optimism because, well, the guy has typically been relegated to a backup role for a reason. 

By looking at statistics, Jackson's technically a slight upgrade over Young. Bleacher Report's Josh Cembellin illustrated the two most telling numbers on Twitter:

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Last year, Tarvaris Jackson passed for more yards (3,091) and TDs (14) with the Seahawks than Vince Young ever has in any single season

— Josh Cembellin (@JoshCembellin) August 26, 2012"

There's a general consensus that head coach Chan Gailey has fondness for athletic, fleet-footed quarterbacks based on his time with Kordell Stewart and the team's interest in Cam Newton during the 2011 draft—so that sentiment could have at least sparked the Bills' interest in swing a trade for the agile Seattle quarterback. 

Jackson's hardly a consistent quarterback and he's dealt with accuracy issues throughout his six-year NFL career. He has a career completion percentage of 59.4 and has thrown 38 touchdowns to 35 interceptions. The former Arkansas State quarterback did go 8-4 as a starter in 2007 when the Vikings made the playoffs. 

It won't be easy for Jackson to learn the Bills' spread offense in less than two weeks, but Gailey was clearly extremely disappointed and worried about the backup spot behind Fitzpatrick and wanted an upgrade. 

Jackson's experience, athleticism and arm strength (which might be the biggest upgrade over Young) make him a fine addition to a Buffalo team rather desperate at the No. 2 quarterback spot. 

Remember, if everything goes to plan, Jackson won't even play in 2012. 

Follow @ChrisTrapasso