Seahawks complete trade of Darrell Jackson to 49ers

KIRKLAND — The departure of Darrell Jackson was just a formality after he passed his physical with the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.

On Sunday, it became official.

Day Two of the NFL draft began as such for the Seahawks, with the finalization of a trade that sent Jackson, one of the most productive wide receivers in franchise history, to the 49ers in exchange for the 124th overall pick of the draft.

That Seahawks used that fourth-round choice Sunday to draft guard Mansfield Wrotto from Georgia Tech.

"It was probably time to do it," Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell said of the Jackson trade. "I think it was the best thing for our football team."

With the Seahawks drafting largely for depth and special-teams contributors on Sunday's second day of drafting, the end of the Jackson era after seven seasons was the story of the day.

"I think for one, they're just going in a new direction," Jackson told reporters in San Francisco. "They brought in some good players like Deion Branch and Nate Burleson, and they have an up-and-coming star in D.J. Hackett, so I guess he [Ruskell] really likes those guys. I wasn't one of those guys. [Coach] Mike Holmgren drafted me and maybe they wanted to turn around the wide-receiving corps in their favor, so that's what they believed in."

Jackson, for his part, can't wait for his two shots at the Seahawks this season, and said the knee injuries that plagued him the past two years are behind him. A turf toe is still nagging him, however.

"You already know it makes it sweeter to go against my old team," he said.

Jackson, 28, was the Seahawks' third-round pick in 2000. He ranks second in franchise history in touchdown catches (47), third in yards (6,344) and fourth in catches (441), and led the team in receiving in four of his seven seasons.

But a pair of knee surgeries in the past two years that led to too many missed practices caused concern, and skipped voluntary minicamps didn't endear Jackson to Seahawks executives and coaches.

"He didn't have that rapport when he didn't practice. That's the truth," Seahawks offensive coordinator Gil Haskell said.

"He gave us a lot, he really did," Holmgren said. "He didn't hold anything back. But the extra things he just chose not to do, I think it had reached a point with the organization where enough was enough."

Another issue was the rift over a supposed contract bonus Jackson claimed he was promised before Ruskell arrived to take over football operations.

"I was promised certain things," Jackson said. "When the new regime came in, I still had my complaints and they really didn't want me here or want to fix it."

Ruskell was asked about the lower return for Jackson, as opposed to the first-round pick given to New England for Branch last year, and why the team would deal Jackson to a division rival.

"You have to look at every case differently," Ruskell said. "Why [Randy] Moss and Jackson for a fourth? I don't know if that's a trend or anything, it's just those were the circumstances, and that's the way it worked out."

The 49ers have revamped their roster with a number of quality free agents in the offseason and are expected to challenge the Seahawks for the NFC West title.

"I don't like doing that, either, but that's just kind of how it fell, that's where the interest laid," Ruskell said of dealing Jackson to San Francisco. Holmgren preferred Jackson not be traded within the division.

Holmgren said he was sorry things didn't work out and sounded sad to see Jackson go, though he admitted Jackson didn't make it easy at times. He said he and Ruskell had several discussions about moving Jackson.

"It was hard for Coach," Ruskell said. "He's a big-hearted man. He's a players' coach. But he understood the rationale."

The 49ers will assume Jackson's six-year, $25 million contract he signed with Seattle in the 2004 offseason. Jackson has three seasons left on that deal, and the Seahawks will save $750,000 in salary-cap money by getting rid of his contract.

In the end, Ruskell felt he needed to make the move because Jackson wasn't happy.

"I think it was from the contract squabble from his deal," Ruskell said. "It wasn't about the catches and the yards. But it just never felt comfortable as a fit. I like Darrell and I wish him well, I do."