When the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers play one another in Week 17, each team will have players and coaches quite familiar with how the other organization does business. Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold, for instance, spent two seasons with the Panthers.
But one formerly unsung Seahawk has a decent chance of determining who wins or loses on Sunday. Cornerback Mike Jackson was a gem that the New England Patriots gave up on after the 2020 season, and Jackson eventually became a good starter in Seattle.
The odd part was that the Seahawks traded Jackson to the Panthers ahead of the 2024 season. The hope was that Tre Brown would finally become a good player for the Seahawks, and he didn't. It was an odd risk taken by general manager John Schneider, and one that worked out much better for Carolina.
Mike Jackson still seems upset about the Seattle Seahawks trading him
Jackson knows it too, and he still isn't happy with being moved. To be sure, he hadn't played his way out of Seattle as he was also solid in coverage and run support. His biggest issue was that he didn't create turnovers.
In dealing Jackson to the Panthers, the Seahawks received linebacker Michael Bennett back. Bennett made no impact for the Seahawks and is no longer with the team. Jackson has a special term for Bennett now.
Speaking with reporters ahead of Week 17, Jackson said he was traded to the Panthers for "a bag of chips...a stale bag of chips at that."
He certainly has a right to his opinion, and no one can argue that he is wrong. Michael Bennett (the linebacker and not the Seahawks great) is nowhere to be found in the NFL currently, but Jackson is the 12th-highest graded cornerback in the league, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
While he has allowed eight total touchdowns in the past two seasons in Carolina, he has also had an uptick in his number of interceptions. He has five in the same span. Plus, in 2025, he is allowing just 51.9 percent of his pass targets to be completed.
There is little doubt that Mike Jackson has improved the Carolina Panthers, a team surprisingly battling for a playoff spot and currently leading the NFC South. Had the Seattle Seahawks truly gotten a bag of chips back in return for Jackson, the team would still have been better off than getting Bennett.
The truth is that Seattle should have kept Jackson. A 2026 cornerback group, assuming Riq Woolen signs elsewhere in free agency, that features Jackson, Devon Witherspoon, and Josh Jobe would have been a great one.