Former Seahawks QB Tarvaris Jackson was selfless teammate

Tarvaris Jackson, former Seahawks quarterback, died in a single-car crash in Alabama on Sunday night, according to local police.

Tarvaris Jackson passed away on Sunday night in Alabama after his car hit a tree and overturned. He was 36 years old. Jackson played 10 seasons in the NFL, four of them with the Seahawks. With Seattle, Jackson was mostly a backup, but he did start 14 games in 2011, the year before Russell Wilson was drafted.

In many ways, Jackson helped Wilson become the great quarterback he is today. Jackson had little hope of starting after Wilson joined the team but chose to stick around the Seahawks and be Wilson’s backup. Jackson could have left to go somewhere else and take the chance on starting, but Jackson liked Seattle and the Seahawks liked him.

Jackson might be the perfect teammate. He accepted a backup role without ego. How many professional athletes can say that? Of course, maybe having a big ego helps one succeed in sports, but Jackson didn’t just accept his fate; He actively helped Wilson.

There was more to Jackson than just Wilson’s backup, though. In 2011, Jackson played in 15 games, started 14 of them, and did so while playing with a torn pectoral muscle through more than half of the season. During the latter half of 2011, Tarvaris Jackson was limited to throwing one day a week in practice and played through pain when many players would have just had surgery and called it a season.

Tarvaris Jackson spent time with three teams in his career, the Seahawks, Vikings and Bills. He never played a down for the Bills but for the Vikings, he started 20 games. Jackson’s career record as a starter was 17-17. With Minnesota, he was 10-10 and with Seattle, he was 7-7.

Tarvaris Jackson was also known for his luck when it came to calling coin flips. Even with Minnesota fans and players remember Jackson not losing a coin flip and the same happened in Seattle. Jackson called the flip that led to the Seahawks getting the ball to start overtime versus the Packers in the 2015 NFC Championship game and Seattle famously scored a touchdown on its first drive of overtime.

Tarvaris Jackson was married and a father of three. The importance of his life goes well beyond football. But Jackson will be fondly remembered in Seattle and fondly missed by many Seahawks.