Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Sunday that third-round draft pick Russell Wilson has earned a spot in the contest to be the team's starting quarterback.
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"He showed us enough," Carroll said, according to the Seahawks' official website. "He's in the competition. That is going to tax us, as we know. It was already going to be taxing with two, but he's shown us enough that we need to see where he fits in with these guys."
Carroll had already said free-agent acquisition Matt Flynn and veteran Tarvaris Jackson would fight for the top spot. Now, apparently, Wilson can be added to that mix.
At Seattle's rookie minicamp over the weekend, the Wisconsin product took all of the snaps, leaving the other two quarterbacks in attendance -- Chris Hart and Josh McGregor -- to watch him work. He struggled to throw deep with consistency, but Carroll still liked what he saw after more than 70 plays.
"He did an excellent job of demonstrating that he prepared for this," Carroll told reporters after the camp ended Sunday.
Carroll said that if Wilson doesn't become the starter, "it won't be because he doesn't understand or that he can't learn it or any of that. It isn't going to be because he can't throw the football. Because he can. He's got a terrific arm. So we'll just have to see how he fits as time goes on."
Wilson completed 225 passes for 3,175 yards and 33 touchdowns at Wisconsin during the 2011 season.
The Seahawks signed Flynn to a three-year, $26 million deal in March. Flynn started in only two games for the Green Bay Packers in the past two seasons, but completed 55 passes for 731 yards and nine touchdowns in those appearances.
Jackson ended the 2011 season as Seattle's starter. He was limited last season by a pectoral injury but still started 14 games and threw for 3,091 yards and 14 touchdowns.
