Before Russell Wilson turned into the starter and perennial Pro Bowler over the first 10 seasons of his career, he was a third-round draft pick out of Wisconsin. At the time, the Seattle Seahawks had just signed Matt Flynn to a three-year deal worth $19.5 million, with $9 million in guarantees. He was signed with the intention of being the starting quarterback for the next several years in Seattle. They also had Tarvaris Jackson on the roster, but the Seahawks drafted Wilson and head coach Pete Carroll surprisingly named it an open competition.
At the first wave of offseason training activities, Carroll told the Seattle media that Wilson had shown he needed to be a part of the competition.