Via Evan Silva of Rotoworld.com, ESPN's John Clayton reported Sunday on SportsCenter that Tarvaris Jackson will receive the first reps when the Seahawks open training camp in late July. Silva passes on Clayton's comments: "(Flynn) hasn't wowed anybody in all the offseason program. And because of that, when they start training camp, Tarvaris Jackson will be taking the first snap."
This comes as no surprise; Jackson has received the 'first team reps' as the incumbent starter for the team's OTAs and veteran Mini-Camps, and head coach Pete Carroll has pledged to give the competition between Jackson, Matt Flynn, and Russell Wilson ample time to play itself out. Flynn's inability to overtake Jackson for the job this early might surprise (and worry) some, but my guess is that the coaching staff feels no need to move the three around on the mostly irrelevant 'depth chart' this early in the offseason.
Instead, they've shown they're committed to seeing how things play out by giving each quarterback equal reps. Most of the Seahawks' offseason practices come in three-day bunches, and though Tarvaris Jackson has been getting the 'first reps' as the incumbent, on the second day, Flynn gets all the reps with the 'first team', then on the third day, Russell Wilson gets all the 'first team' reps. The Seahawks coaching staff are obviously trying to get the best picture as to which quarterback can command the offense and lead the team by giving each player an equal shot with the players that likely will be starting on Sundays this year.
For a little context on Clayton's quotes, which I'm sure will give some fans heartburn, though the veteran reporter notes that Flynn hasn't wowed anyone in the Seahawks' front office enough to move ahead of Tarvaris for the 'first reps' with the offense, Clayton expects that Flynn will indeed win the starting job and then the Seahawks will ultimately have to decide whether or not to retain Jackson during the season as a backup, noting that Russell Wilson is still in the picture as well.
The bottom line is that nothing has changed since the Seahawks opened their offseason programs and though a lot of fans probably would have liked to see Matt Flynn come on and blow his competitors away, I simply believe Pete Carroll and company don't want to tip their hand, rock the boat, stir the pot, or otherwise meddle in a competition that still has a long way to go (and has been fairly even thus far - whether that's good or bad). Clayton acknowledges that "It's still gonna be a three-way competition," and if you believe Pete Carroll, he's right - each QB is going to get equal reps until the team narrows this thing down to two. Then, we're probably going to see the competition carry on into the preseason, much longer than anyone is probably hoping for.