NFL running back Fred Jackson may soon sign a deal with the Seattle Seahawks. Jackson has reportedly visited the Seahawks with the intention of signing for the club following his release from the Buffalo Bills.
According to Ian Rapoport, an NFL Media Insider, the team has expressed serious interest in signing the 34-year-old former Bills player after his nine-year spell with the AFC East outfit ended as part of their roster cutdown.
The Seattle Seahawks may sign Jackson ahead of the season in order to serve as backup for Marshawn Lynch, given that Robert Turbin is currently dealing with an injury. However, no deal is close to happening yet as coach Pete Carroll said on Tuesday that, "This is a visit, not a signing."
Turbin, a Seahawk running back, is suffering from an ankle injury and the sprain is "significant" which may prompt the team to add Jackson for depth, The Seattle Times reported. The Seahawks already has Marshawn Lynch as the starter as well as Christine Michael on the roster, but Fred Jackson is said to be a better and more experienced player.
For the unfamiliar, Lynch and Jackson have been close friends since 2007 when the two broke into the NFL with the Buffalo Bills. Jackson made it to the Bills' roster after spending the previous year on its practice squad while Lynch was Buffalo's first round pick. They shared starting duties in the 2009 season. Jackson became the starter following Bills' decision to trade Lynch to the Seahawks.
In light of Fred Jackson's possible deal, strong safety Kam Chancellor's almost five-week long holdout from the Seahawks may make it hard for them to get Jackson. Bleacher Report correspondent Jason Cole reported that the team would "very much like to sign" Jackson, however it is still in a "holding pattern" until they realize what to do with Chancellor.
The 27-year-old Chancellor, who was drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, missed all of the team's training camp along with its three preseason games allegedly because was not satisfied with the four-year, $28 million extension contract he signed back in 2013.
Nevertheless, Cole mentioned that the holdout may actually result to a positive outcome for the three-time Pro Bowler, possibly earning him a new contract year. "In dealing with Chancellor, expect that they're going to add a year to his contract and give him some money up front. That seems like the most logical solution at this point in time," Cole further said.
