Rookie Russell Wilson will get his chance to make his strongest case yet to be Seattle’s quarterback this season when he makes his first start in the team’s third preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made the news official on Tuesday, just one day after informing both Wilson and Matt Flynn, the team’s free-agent pickup who had started Seattle’s two previous preseason contests.
Wilson, a third-round pick out of Wisconsin, has been impressive in previous games against Tennessee and Denver, albeit against second-teamers for the most part. A strong performance on Friday night could permanently cement his place in the starting lineup.
Wilson will command the majority of the first-team practice reps this week as Seattle gears up for the Chiefs. Carroll has said he plans to play his starters for a half, but it’s possible that Flynn could manage some work with the first team as well early in the second half.
Flynn, Aaron Rodger’s understudy in Green Bay, has been solid after signing a big free agent contract in the offseason. But it’s been Wilson who has not only provided more excitement, but has delivered superior results so far as well.
Through two preseason games, Wilson has completed 67 (22 of 33) percent of his passes with three touchdown passes and one interception. More impressively, he’s connected on 54 percent of his third-down attempts to sustain drives. Flynn has been steady as well, completing 65 percent (17 of 26) of his attempts for 102 yards and an interception without a touchdown.
Carroll now wants to see how well Wilson performs as a starter in this week’s audition as opposed to coming off the bench. If he struggles, it is possible that Flynn could start the final preseason game against visiting Oakland on Aug. 30, as well as the Sept. 9 season-opener at Arizona.
