Seahawks trade Tavaris Jackson to Bills
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - The Buffalo Bills have a new backup in Tarvaris Jackson, and they've cut Vince Young in a sudden shuffle of quarterbacks on Monday.
Shortly after announcing they had released Young, the Bills followed up to confirm reports that they had acquired Tarvaris Jackson in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick.
It was a surprising turn of events that came in the final week of the preseason, and after Young struggled in his bid to win the backup job in a 38-7 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Young posted comments on his Twitter account indicating his time in Buffalo was over on Monday morning.
That was after the Bills reached an agreement with Jackson to restructure the final year of his contract and complete the trade Buffalo and Seattle had agreed to Sunday night.
"Respect Bills fans," Young wrote. "I want to thank the Bills organization for the opportunity and with the organization and my teammates good luck this season."
Jackson traveled overnight to Buffalo, and was expected to join his new teammates for practice Monday afternoon.
The trade wasn't completed until the Bills (No. 19 in the AP Pro32) reached a deal with Jackson's agent, Joel Segal, to restructure the final year of the player's contract, according to a person familiar with discussions. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Bills do not discuss contract talks.
Jackson was scheduled to make $4 million this season, a figure the Bills deemed to be too expensive for a backup player.
The Bills (0-3) are preparing to complete their preseason schedule at Detroit on Thursday, when Jackson will have an opportunity to play.
Jackson is a seven-year veteran who has gone 17-17 as a starter with Minnesota and Seattle. He had a 7-7 record with the Seahawks last season, but his future was left uncertain after Seattle acquired Matt Flynn in free agency this offseason, and after using a third-round pick to draft Russell Wilson in April.
The Bills quickly ran out of patience with Young, who had signed a one-year contract in May to compete with returning backup Tyler Thigpen for the No. 2 job behind starter Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Young had the edge to win the backup job before he struggled on Saturday. He threw two interceptions, the first coming on his first pass attempt, and finished 12 of 26 for 103 yards passing in playing the entire second half.
It was a sudden turn of events for Young, who last week had earned a thumbs-up from quarterbacks coach David Lee.
"I'm really pleased with how much he studied and how he has slowly gotten better and better," Lee had said. "Is he ready for the season? Not yet, but he's getting better every day."
And coach Chan Gailey has maintained there's only room for one backup, because the No. 3 job is going to receiver/wildcat specialist Brad Smith.
It is the latest blow to Young's once-promising career. After leading Texas to the national championship in 2006, Young was selected third overall in the draft by the Tennessee Titans and was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The Titans eventually ran out of patience with Young and released him last summer. Young had a disappointing season as Michael Vick's backup in Philadelphia last year.
Jackson has had an up-and-down career since being selected by Minnesota in the second round of the 2006 draft. He spent five years with the Vikings, including a 2007 when he went 8-4 before losing his starting job.
Jackson signed a two-year contract with the Seahawks last year, and was credited for playing a major role in the team's turnaround after a 2-6 start. He had career numbers in completions (271), attempts (450), 3,091 yards passing with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Shortly after announcing they had released Young, the Bills followed up to confirm reports that they had acquired Tarvaris Jackson in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick.
It was a surprising turn of events that came in the final week of the preseason, and after Young struggled in his bid to win the backup job in a 38-7 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Young posted comments on his Twitter account indicating his time in Buffalo was over on Monday morning.
That was after the Bills reached an agreement with Jackson to restructure the final year of his contract and complete the trade Buffalo and Seattle had agreed to Sunday night.
"Respect Bills fans," Young wrote. "I want to thank the Bills organization for the opportunity and with the organization and my teammates good luck this season."
Jackson traveled overnight to Buffalo, and was expected to join his new teammates for practice Monday afternoon.
The trade wasn't completed until the Bills (No. 19 in the AP Pro32) reached a deal with Jackson's agent, Joel Segal, to restructure the final year of the player's contract, according to a person familiar with discussions. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Bills do not discuss contract talks.
Jackson was scheduled to make $4 million this season, a figure the Bills deemed to be too expensive for a backup player.
The Bills (0-3) are preparing to complete their preseason schedule at Detroit on Thursday, when Jackson will have an opportunity to play.
Jackson is a seven-year veteran who has gone 17-17 as a starter with Minnesota and Seattle. He had a 7-7 record with the Seahawks last season, but his future was left uncertain after Seattle acquired Matt Flynn in free agency this offseason, and after using a third-round pick to draft Russell Wilson in April.
The Bills quickly ran out of patience with Young, who had signed a one-year contract in May to compete with returning backup Tyler Thigpen for the No. 2 job behind starter Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Young had the edge to win the backup job before he struggled on Saturday. He threw two interceptions, the first coming on his first pass attempt, and finished 12 of 26 for 103 yards passing in playing the entire second half.
It was a sudden turn of events for Young, who last week had earned a thumbs-up from quarterbacks coach David Lee.
"I'm really pleased with how much he studied and how he has slowly gotten better and better," Lee had said. "Is he ready for the season? Not yet, but he's getting better every day."
And coach Chan Gailey has maintained there's only room for one backup, because the No. 3 job is going to receiver/wildcat specialist Brad Smith.
It is the latest blow to Young's once-promising career. After leading Texas to the national championship in 2006, Young was selected third overall in the draft by the Tennessee Titans and was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The Titans eventually ran out of patience with Young and released him last summer. Young had a disappointing season as Michael Vick's backup in Philadelphia last year.
Jackson has had an up-and-down career since being selected by Minnesota in the second round of the 2006 draft. He spent five years with the Vikings, including a 2007 when he went 8-4 before losing his starting job.
Jackson signed a two-year contract with the Seahawks last year, and was credited for playing a major role in the team's turnaround after a 2-6 start. He had career numbers in completions (271), attempts (450), 3,091 yards passing with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Happened about 10 hours ago, common Komo start reporting the news as it happens, not 12 hours later.
Hit the road Jack...............................
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Good news today with regard to TJ and TO!Â
Sad to say good-bye to a good player who has given his all, but Wilson is the real deal and the future of our team.
Sha na na na
Sha na na na
Hey hey hey
Goodbye!
He is a solid QB,but not as high-quality
I'm kind of sorry to see him go. I know that there is only room on the roster for two QB's and that we spent $26 million on Flynn. I also know that Wilson pretty much out-played Jackson in camp. But I have to give a lot of credit to a guy who played almost half of last season with a torn pectoral on his throwing side.
For those that have never had a torn muscle in their torso, it hurts like hell. BREATHING is painful, much less anything else. About the only thing Jackson could do last year that didn't hurt was walk, and that was only if he didn't swing his arms, so I give a hell of a lot of credit for his physical toughness.
 @svensson I agree with you he played through a very painful injury. He never complained. Flynn only gets 10 million guaranteed the rest is incentives he can make a maximum of 26. I wish Jackson all the best in the future unless somehow we meet his new team in the superbowl......
@tandras Well a lot of my reservations about Wilson rest on the idea that nobody can consider the Chiefs game a real test of Wilson's abilities. He hasn't faced a real first team NFL defense yet and I wonder what'll happen to him when he does. Certainly, the Cowboys on Week 2 will give him a run for his money. A Facebook friend that I agonize over the Seahawks with posed an interesting idea about Wilson. He thought that perhaps Tricky Pete was willing to sacrifice a couple of losing games to get the Seahawk fans used to the idea of putting Wilson on the back burner and start Flynn for the rest of the season... Wouldn't THAT make for a discussion over a couple of beers....
@takingamericaback @tandras Well, given the huge amount of problems with the Chiefs, they aren't expected to win more than 5 games this season. Swiss cheese has more structure than the Chiefs defensive line.I submit that this isn't a real test of Wilson's abilities insofar as a competent NFL defense is concerned. Like I said, I think that Wilson's real first serious test will be versus the Cowboys on Week 2.
 @svensson  @tandras the chiefs were playing a first team d besides a corner and a safety, but wilson also was not handing the ball of to lynch friday night to.
Big surprise
Well in the long term I think this will be best for him as I don't see him as having a chance to play behind Wilson & Flynn. They aren't going to keep 3 quarterbacks & Wilson & Flynn present way better skills at that position. Now as to who should get the start? Right now I am leaning towards Wilson, but it's so so close and we will just have to wait and see.
 @Gaikokujin The Seahawks did name Wilson the starter for week 1 this evening