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Pete Carroll says Seahawks will pick QB on merit

The Seattle Seahawks will wrap up their offseason workouts with a mandatory three-day minicamp in the middle of the week. It will be the last chance for Tarvaris Jackson, Matt Flynn and third-round draft pick Russell Wilson to make an impression in the competition for the starting quarterback job.

Rapoport: Seahawks' QB competition

Pete Carroll says merit will be the only factor in who becomes the Seahawks' starting quarterback. Ian Rapoport is glad that's the case. **More ...**

Thus far, the team has evenly divided the reps during organized team activities, which figures to help Tarvaris Jackson hold on to the position, because Flynn and Wilson are just learning offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell's system. What might also help Jackson is that head coach Pete Carroll recently said the team's level of investment in a quarterback won't be a determining factor in who starts.

"Draft picks and money and stuff like that is not going to play in the decision at all," Carroll told Eric Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune. "We’re going to go with what it looks like through the competition and how they play, and the results of that, and how we feel about that."

Carroll's track records lends credence to this statement. Seattle trading for and paying Charlie Whitehurst didn't give him a leg up on Matt Hasselbeck. Golden Tate was a second-round pick in 2010, but that didn't keep undrafted rookie Doug Baldwin from taking the slot-receiver role last year. That said, Flynn was given a $19.5 million contract with $10 million guaranteed. Carroll and Seattle's front office should be rooting for Flynn to get the job.