Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has announced that Russell Wilsonwill be the team's starting quarterback in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals.
"Russell Wilson will start against the Raiders (in the preseason finale) and will start the first week of the regular season," Carroll said. "He is so prepared, he does not seem like a first-year quarterback."
Rookie QB rankings
Russell Wilson flashed magic with so much at stake and outperformed all the big-name rookie quarterbacks this week, Gregg Rosenthal writes. **More ...**
The Seahawks selected Wilson in the third round (No. 75 overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Considered to be undersized at just under 5-foot-11 and 204 pounds, Wilson was, at best, expected to be the No. 2 quarterback behind free-agent addition Matt Flynn or as the No. 3 behind Flynn and incumbent starter Tarvaris Jackson.
Given equal reps as Flynn and Jackson, Wilson impressed the Seahawks' coaching staff throughout the OTAs and minicamp as the team carried the three-way competition for the starting job right into training camp. With Jackson being a known commodity, Flynn started the first two preseason games with Wilson coming off the bench. In those games, Wilson was the more impressive quarterback, completing 22-of-33 attempts for 279 yards with three touchdowns, and adding 92 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Carroll named Wilson the starter for Friday night's pivotal preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs and the rookie seized the opportunity. Wilson played into the third quarter, completing 13-of-19 attempts for 185 yards and two touchdowns with 58 yards on two scrambles as the Seahawks scored on their first six possessions in a 44-14 rout. Flynn missed most of last week's practices with tendinitis in his elbow and did not play in the game against the Chiefs.
Flynn, who was signed to a three-year, $19.5 million contract in March, is expected to be the No. 2 quarterback. The Seahawks are in the process of finalizing an agreed upon trade that would send Jackson to the Buffalo Bills. Coincidentally, the last third-round quarterback to open a regular season as his team's starter was Joe Ferguson, who accomplished that feat with the 1973 Bills.
UPDATE: Wilson expressed his excitement on Twitter.
Follow Brian McIntyre on Twitter _@brianmcintyre_.
