Tarvaris jackson

Tarvaris jackson, It’s official. The T’s have now been crossed and the I’s dotted on a contract to bring quarterback Tarvaris Jackson back to Seattle. In the wake, the Seahawks released free-agent signee Jerrod Johnson, the team announced Friday.

Jackson, who started for the Seahawks in 2011, returns to Seattle after a season with Buffalo in which he didn’t take a single snap. Only this time, Jackson will compete with offseason signee Brady Quinn for the backup spot behind incumbent starter Russell Wilson.

“I think it’s a great boost for us in a competitive sense,” head coach Pete Carroll said Thursday. “We thought of Tarvaris as a tremendously tough football player and competitive kid that battled for us.”

Jackson’s reputation as a “tough” player is certainly warranted. In his 14 starts with the Seahawks, Jackson led the team to a 7-7 record while passing for 3,091 yards and 14 touchdowns — all while battling an injured pectoral muscle in his passing shoulder.

Now healthy, Jackson will look to fill the backup spot left vacant by former Seahawks quarterback Matt Flynn, who was traded to the Oakland Raiders in April.

Despite losing Flynn, Carroll and the Seahawks believe they now have plenty of help at the position behind Wilson.

“We’re seizing the opportunity that one of our guys is out there and we can bring him back in,” Carroll said. “And he’ll be able to help us.”