As you have heard by now the Vikings have agreed to trade Matt Cassel to the Buffalo Bills next week when the NFL’s new year begins.
That means the Vikings will be looking for a new backup quarterback.
One name that has come up is former Vikings quarterback Tavaris Jackson, who spent the last two seasons as Russell Wilson’s backup in Seattle.
Jackson was originally drafted by the Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He never really took control of the starting job in Minnesota, starting 20 games over five seasons, and when Brett Favre came to Minnesota in 2009 the end of Jackson’s future in a Vikings uniform was in sight.
Or was it?
The now 31-year-old quarterback tells the Pioneer Press that he’d be open to a return to the Vikings as Teddy Bridgewater’s backup.
“I’d definitely love to come back,” Jackson said on Friday. “I still go (to Minnesota) to train every summer. Coming there, I think I could definitely help Teddy out. I love being in Minnesota. It’s a place that I’ll never forget. It’s a part of my life. … I don’t know why (the Vikings) wouldn’t be interested in me.”
He left the Vikings in 2010 as a free agent and signed with the Seahawks where he started in 2011. After he was traded to Buffalo for a short stint, he returned to Seattle as Russell Wilson’s backup the last two seasons.
We've brought back Randy Moss, Torii Hunter and Kevin Garnett. Looking at you, Tarvaris Jackson…
— Ryan Boser 🇺🇸 🏈 (@Ryan_Boser) March 4, 2015
“I think I could really help him (Bridgewater),” Jackson told the Pioneer Press. “I think I could help put things in perspective for him with football and outside of football. … I feel I can help him just making the game a little easier and kind of learning from my mistakes and stuff.”
Jackson is an unrestricted free agent and would certainly be in the Vikings price range. He made $1.25 million in Seattle last season, but he wasn’t forced into any significant action.
According to Pro Football Talk, Vikings coach Norv Turner said after Cassel was traded that the team has a plan for getting a backup quarterback, but he didn’t elaborate. Jackson joins veterans like Mark Sanchez, Shaun Hill, Matt Moore and Christian Ponder as free agents.
