Russell Wilson: Seahawks QBs called themselves the ‘Jackson 5’
The Seahawks were in a unique situation a month ago, with Russell Wilson already deemed the team’s starting quarterback and four other QBs battling to play his backup.
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Tarvaris Jackson, Terrelle Pryor, B.J. Daniels and Keith Price all started OTAs competing for a coveted roster spot as a backup QB in Seattle.
One might think that with that much competition, there might be little friendship among the QBs.
But that’s not how the Seahawks view things.
They would rather use their sense of humor to have some fun before the season starts.
Wilson was featured on “The MMQB with Peter King” this week and said that the unique situation of having five African-American quarterbacks on the same team led to a well-known moniker — “The Jackson 5.”
"We call ourselves “The Jackson 5.” I play the role of Michael Jackson. It’s not that Coach Carroll and John Schneider purposely did that. They put the best guys they could find on the roster to help the Seahawks win. But really, considering the history of the league and the quarterback position, how crazy is it that one team has five quarterbacks in camp, and all are African-American?"
Wilson said that he was proud of how far the NFL has come in recent years and asked if “a generation ago, could you have imagined an NFL roster with five black quarterbacks?”
Let’s put that question into perspective.
Sixty years ago, Willie Thrower was the third African-American quarterback in NFL history.
In Week 1 of last season, nine teams’ starting quarterbacks were African-American.
The game has come a long way but Wilson is looking at the bigger picture:
"…this is not all about black quarterbacks. It’s about the league progressing to being more of a place where it’s about ability first, second and third, and about the history of a league that has had some blind spots when it comes to race…"
Unfortunately for the Seahawks’ “Jackson 5,” Price was cut in June and Seattle may opt to cut another QB before the season starts.
Training camp starts on July 25, where the Seahawks will officially begin their quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions.