Seahawks make the perfect trade with Panthers involving Michael Jackson
By Lee Vowell
Michael Jackson - Mike to his friends (and that is not a joke) - was likely going to make the Seattle Seahawks active 53-man roster. He has been too decent in coverage the last couple of years to simply be released. He was not going to start this season, though, and that made him expendable.
On Thursday, Seattle traded Jackson to the Carolina Panthers straight up for another player. The player the Seahawks got back is key, but more on that in just a minute. What was unlikely was that another team was going to trade a draft pick as high as the fifth round for Jackson so Seattle might have just kept Jackson on the team with no spot for him to play or been forced to let him go after all.
In return for Jackson, Seattle got linebacker Michael Barrett. Barrett was unlikely to stick with Carolina but here is why the Seahawks adding Barrett is interesting. No NFL coach is going to know better, other than the Los Angeles Chargers' Jim Harbaugh, how to try to use Barrett than Mike Macdonald.
Seahawks trade Michael Jackson to the Carolina Panthers for Michael Barrett
That is because Barrett played for the University of Michigan during the time Macdonald was a defensive coordinator at the school. Seattle's head coach was the DC for the Wolverines in 2021. That season Barrett played in 14 games and had a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. His numbers improved a bit in the last two years.
Barrett is an inside linebacker who, no surprise knowing Macdonald's scheme fits, is good in coverage. He is undersized, however, as he is only 5'11" and 230 pounds. He might project long-term more as a safety than an ILB.
dark. Next. 3 Seahawks who played themselves off the roster versus Titans. 3 Seahawks who played themselves off the roster versus Titans
Where Barrett could help the Seahawks eventually is on special teams. At Michigan, Barrett was a beast in the third phase of the game and a player who could chase down ball carriers and then hit them with force.
The likelihood is that Barrett doesn't make the active roster but that Macdonald knows him well enough for the linebacker to land on the practice squad. In a year or two, Barrett could find his way to making the team and helping greatly on special teams. Meanwhile, Mike Jackson has a new home with a good chance of starting, which he deserves.
More Seahawks news and analysis:
manual