The Seattle Seahawks will ramp up their efforts to trade quarterback Tarvaris Jackson this week, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported early Sunday morning.
Jackson opened training camp as the Seahawks' No. 1 quarterback, but he has fallen behind free agent addition Matt Flynn on the depth chart. The Seahawks also are high on 2012 third-round draft pick Russell Wilson, who has looked good in the second half in both of the Seahawks' preseason games.
Jackson has not appeared in either of the Seahawks' two preseason games thus far, though was taking first-team reps in practice as recently as the middle of last week.
Complicating the efforts to deal Jackson is his $4 million base salary in 2012, though La Canfora reports that the veteran is willing to alter his contract to accommodate a trade. Another issue is that no starting or No. 2 quarterback has suffered an injury that would nudge a team toward trading what will likely be a conditional draft choice for Jackson, who set career-highs with 3,091 passing yards and 14 touchdowns in 2011, despite playing through a partially-torn pectoral muscle.
If the Seahawks cannot locate a trade partner, Jackson likely will be released. As respected as he is in the Seattle locker room for what he played through last season, $4 million is a lot to pay a No. 3 quarterback who is not a part of the team's future plans.
Follow Brian McIntyre on Twitter @brian_mcintyre.