Bad deal will make Seahawks better

By Chris Cluff  |   Friday, May 04, 2007  |  Comments( 4 )

Seattle Seahawks
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Yes, Tim Ruskell was desperate to send Darrell Jackson on a fly route out of Seattle. So desperate that the Seahawks' president sent the unhappy receiver to the division-rival San Francisco 49ers for nothing more than a fourth-round draft pick.

And yes, it was a bad deal for both reasons. But it won't matter. In the end, this trade will be better for the Seahawks than for the 49ers.

For Ruskell, it was a matter of addition by subtraction -- removing a malcontent who had missed minicamps and offseason workouts ever since unhappily signing a $25 million contract in 2004. When Ruskell first arrived in Seattle in 2005, he quickly learned about Jackson's beef with former president Bob Whitsitt. And when Ruskell refused to add money Jackson claimed had been pulled from his deal just before he signed it, the new president watched how the team's leading receiver stayed away from camps.

Then Jackson got hurt and missed 10 games during the 2005 Super Bowl season, and Ruskell had seen enough. In 2006, the president added Nate Burleson and Deion Branch -- obvious precursors to getting rid of Jackson. It was no surprise at all when word leaked at the combine that Ruskell was shopping Jackson.

But it was a bit of a surprise that Ruskell could only conjure a mere fourth-rounder for the guy who was the Seahawks' leading receiver over the past six seasons -- and that the pick would come from the 49ers, who proved last year they are a looming threat in the NFC West by sweeping the Seahawks.

Ruskell said he did not like sending Jackson to the 49ers, "but that's just kind of how it fell."

And coach Mike Holmgren lamented both the place and price.

"Is Darrell Jackson better than a fourth-round draft pick? Absolutely, in my opinion," said Holmgren, who drafted Jackson in the third round in 2000. "But you do what you have to do. The value, well, these are tough situations to get into. It rarely matches the value of the player."

Although Holmgren and Ruskell showed their team colors together, they obviously did not see eye to eye on the deal.

"Well, I would have preferred he not be traded to a division opponent," Holmgren said. "I'm sorry it didn't work out better and that we could [not] keep Darrell here. But I think he is probably happier about this. As you know, he has been bothered by a contract he signed for a while. ... I don't think it affected his play, I really don't, but the extra things that our players are doing right now, the offseason program for one, the minicamps, he just chose not to do those."

Holmgren seemed to leave no doubt that he would not have traded Jackson, but he recognized Ruskell's authority in this matter.

"The organization changed a couple of years ago. A new administration came in, and Tim came in as president," Holmgren said. "He looks at players a certain way, and if you don't really know a player and haven't been with him for a long time, sometimes it is harder to accept certain things. I think that probably happened."

Holmgren admitted that Jackson forced the action by staging his offseason protests.

"He was very respectful to me," Holmgren said, "and I think when he played on Sundays, and when he could practice when he was healthy, he gave us a lot, he really did. He didn't hold anything back. But, the extra things, he just chose not to do. I think it had reached a point with the organization where enough is enough and let's see if we can honor his request for a trade. So, that's what happened. Again, I'm sorry that it is within the division. I have tremendous respect for Darrell as a football player, but we did it."

While it remains to be seen whether Jackson hurts the Seahawks' defense, the trade will not hurt the offense. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck now will get a chance to focus on building relationships with Branch and Burleson, and D.J. Hackett should step in as the starting split end. And there's always Bobby Engram, who has long been Hasselbeck's bail-out target on third downs. Ruskell also has added three more receivers in the past two drafts; Ben Obomanu, a 2006 draft pick, figures to be the No. 5 guy.

So the Seahawks' offense will be fine without Jackson. And there's a very good chance that the 49ers' offense won't be so good even with Jackson. He'll probably miss one of the games against Seattle with an injury, and he will probably take all season to get in a groove with Alex Smith, the former No. 1 pick who still has yet to prove he is a viable NFL starter. Receivers who change teams often struggle, especially if the new team runs a different offense and has a lesser quarterback (both the case for Jackson).

The 49ers beat the Seahawks twice last season by running all over them with Frank Gore. So it's not like Jackson is the key for the 49ers to beat Seattle. But getting rid of Jackson was key for Ruskell's Seahawks, who will be better for it.

Original Seattle Seahawks insight, courtesy of RealFootball365.com.

Got a bone to pick with a newspaper columnist, talk show personality or television analyst? E-mail us at mediawatch@realfootball365.com. For more information, visit our Media Watch info page.
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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding,...
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CommentsComments: 4  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Jeremy M.		12:24 PM
05/06/2007
I guess you're supposed to have a Seahawk bias but man I want what you're smoking. You guys have no TE to throw to (Pollards...
No.2
Jesse		02:44 PM
05/13/2007
You didn't just compare Engram with Lelie or Battle did you? I agree Jackson gives you another weapon but, will he be able to...
No.3
Eechman		12:08 AM
05/26/2007
I would take Engram over D.Jackson and rest of SF receivers combined anyday. Seahawk or not he plays with top notch spirit...SF...
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