We addressed a couple of weeks ago, in a PFTV segment for Sprint’s NFL Mobile Live, the question of whether Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson should seek a trade if/when Brett Favre arrives in Minnesota.
Michael Lombardi of NFL Network recently said that he’s been “hearing talk” that Jackson might indeed ask out of Minnesota.
In our view, Jackson shouldn’t ask to be shipped to a new city. He wouldn’t be the starting quarterback in 2009 for any pro team in a league with a three-letter abbreviation not starting in “C” or “U”.
So why not be content to serve as the backup to Favre?
Jackson might fear that he’ll land on the depth chart as the third quarterback or, even worse, lose a training camp/preseason battle with Sage Rosenfels, getting cut at a time when it would be too late to stick with a new team.
But the Vikings need him. He knows the offense better than Rosenfels does or will, especially if Rosenfels gets dramatically reduced reps in training camp, given the presence of Favre. So if Favre gets hurt (or plays poorly and blames it on being hurt), Jackson might be the best option.
The Vikings also need to keep the peace in the locker room, and with multiple members of the team thinking he should be the starter, bringing in Favre and cutting Jackson could cause chemistry problems.
Though Jackson might be feeling miffed about the acquisition of Rosenfels and the looming arrival of Favre, Jackson can blame only one person -- himself -- for those transactions. The 2006 second-round pick has had a full and fair chance to nail down the starting job, and Jackson has failed to deliver.
Getting traded to a new team won’t get him any closer to becoming a long-term starter. So he should accept his role, realize that his current predicament is his own fault, and commit to being fully prepared to step in and play well if the body of the soon-to-be-40-year-old starter behaves like the bodies of many 40-year-olds often do.