At his end-of-season press conference, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll highlighted the internal offensive line as an area where the team can “grow and improve” and, after the start of the new league year, Seattle lost little time a step to improve there, acquiring guard Gabe Jackson in an exchange with the Las Vegas Raiders that became official over the weekend with all exchange conditions being met.
To acquire Jackson, the Seahawks are sending their choice of the fifth round in this year’s draft to Las Vegas.
Jackson, 29, started 99 of 100 games played over his seven-year career with the Raiders, including all 16 games last season. He played on the left guard for the first two seasons, then moved on to the right guard for the past five years.
With Mike Iupati, Seattle left guard holder for the past two seasons, retiring earlier this off-season, Jackson looks like a likely candidate for the job, unless the Seahawks think the best guard combination involves moving Damien Lewis from right to left guard in order to keep Jackson in the position he most recently played in his career.
Jackson believes he will help strengthen the protection of the Seattle pass in particular by not allowing a serve in 2020, according to Pro Football Focus. In four of Jackson’s seven seasons, the Raiders finished in the top 10 in the NFL with the smallest number of sacks allowed, including a 2016 season in which the Raiders dropped out of 18 sacks, with the league down, with Jackson being named one. Pro-Bowl substitute.