Tarvaris Jackson Injury: How Is Sidney Rice's Fantasy Value Affected?

As reported by John Clayton, Tarvaris Jackson was forced out of the lineup due to an injury.  With Jackson out of the lineup, Charlie Whitehurst will be asked to finish the game.  This quarterback situation has a direct impact on the rest of the Seattle Seahawks offense.

The Seahawks don't have a lot of great fantasy football options, but Sidney Rice is the most owned.  Rice is in his first season for the Seahawks, after signing a big free-agent contract.  He spent the first part of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, but left after he felt slighted.  Minnesota decided not to make a good contract offer to Rice.

Since coming to Seattle, Rice has dealt with some injury problems, but is starting to make some plays.  He felt comfortable heading to Seattle because of his past relationship with quarterback Jackson.  Jackson was also moving from Minnesota to Seattle.

Jackson has received a fair amount of criticism, but has steadily improved.  He isn't considered a great quarterback, but he is capable of doing enough to give Sidney Rice some fantasy value.

However, Jackson's injury means that Rice will be receiving passes from Charlie Whitehurst.  Whitehurst is in his second season with the Seattle Seahawks.  He was acquired last season, with the hope he would develop into their quarterback of the future.  However, he failed to take advantage of his playing time, forcing the Seahawks to go in a different direction.

Rice's fantasy value is decreased because of the injury to Jackson.  He now has to count on Whitehurst to get him the football.  They don't have the type of familiarity that was present with Jackson behind center.

Outside of chemistry, Whitehurst has shown that he is not capable of putting up big offensive numbers.

Jon Dove is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report, covering the NFL and NFL draft. Check him out on Twitter @Jon_Dove42