Ex-Seahawks QB Tarvaris Jackson arrested after allegedly pointing loaded gun at his wife
Free agent quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, recently Russell Wilson’s backup for the Seattle Seahawks, was arrested and jailed early Friday in Florida after allegedly pointing a loaded handgun at his wife.
According to an arrest report signed Friday morning by deputies with the Osceola County Sherriff’s office, Jackson was intoxicated and told his wife, “I’ll kill you.”
The arrest report also includes his wife’s allegation of past domestic violence, their three children being in bedrooms inside the same house during Friday’s alleged incident, and his wife’s reply to Jackson allegedly saying he’d shoot her: “You better be accurate because you ain’t accurate on the field.”
Jackson was booked into Osceola County jail “without incident” early Friday, then bonded and released. The charge is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without an intent to kill.
Florida statues list the charge as a third-degree felony with a maximum prison term of five years.
The 33-year-old Jackson was Seattle’s starting quarterback in 2011. He is hugely popular in the team’s locker room to this day for playing that season through painful injuries. The following season, he became the backup to rookie Russell Wilson. He remained Wilson’s backup through January, when his one-year contract with the Seahawks expired.
General manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll said this offseason the team was talking to Jackson’s agent in hopes of re-signing him for the upcoming season to again back up Wilson.
In the meantime, the Seahawks did not draft any quarterbacks. The only two quarterbacks now on the roster besides Wilson are undrafted rookie Trevone Boykin from Texas Christian and second-year free agent Jake Heaps, a former Skyline High School standout.
Carroll prefers his backup quarterback to be a veteran who has proved himself, but Jackson’s arrest makes Boykin more likely to open training camp as the No. 2 quarterback.
Boykin has impressed the Seahawks’ coaches in organized team activities and minicamps with how quickly he has grasped the playbook and with his decisive throws.
Gregg Bell: @gbellseattle
This story was originally published June 24, 2016 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Ex-Seahawks QB Tarvaris Jackson arrested after allegedly pointing loaded gun at his wife."