Former Seattle Seahawk seeks revenge against his previous team this week

The Day The Music Died (Or Was Traded Three Thousand Miles East)

August 22nd, 2024. Probably not a red letter day from the perspective of the Seattle Seahawks. Two days prior to the third and final preseason game of Mike Macdonald’s first season as coach of the Seahawks. Just another Thursday where GM John Schneider might be working the phones and chasing edges. But it was a day where he made a trade.

A very minor trade, so it seemed at the time. He sent cornerback Mike Jackson to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for Michael Barrett, a linebacker the Panthers had just spent a seventh round pick on four months prior. Jackson had become a part-time player for the Seahawks in 2023, on the field for fewer than 40% of the defensive snaps, and seemed the odd man out.

There wasn’t much to say about the swap at the time. Jackson was effective in 2022 (75 tackles, 12 passes defensed, 1 interception, 58.4 PFF) but had been pushed to the side in 2023 in favor of Devon Witherspoon, Tariq Woolen, and Tre Brown.

Meanwhile, Seattle had flipped the table over at the linebacker position (Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks both left that season and were replaced with one-year stopgaps in Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker), so it made sense to add a young linebacker with some upside like Barrett.

Barrett ended up getting waived three days later, signed to the practice squad, and then released entirely two days after the season opener. He bounced around on three different teams over the next calendar year, never seeing the field, and currently finds himself on the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League.

(Birmingham actually won the equivalent of the Super Bowl each season from 2022-2024, but proceeded to lose the conference championship game in 2025. #CurseOfBarrett?)

A (High-End Starter That Falls Just A Little Short Of Being A) Star Is Born

Jackson, meanwhile, has started all 32 games that the Panthers have played since the trade, been on the field for 99% of the snaps, and has 34 passes defensed, 5 interceptions, 126 tackles, and a cumulative PFF grade of approximately 71. He actually leads the league in passes defensed in 2025. Perhaps he’s not a star, but he’s become a very good starter.

Carolina leads the divison over Tampa in part because of Jackson's play. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White (1) runs against Carolina Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson (2) and safety Nick Scott (21) during the second half. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

I doubt Seattle really regrets trading Jackson, given that their cup runneth over at the position right now (Josh Jobe and Nick Emmanwori have both turned into quality pieces since the trade), but they definitely came out on the short end of the transaction, and if they could do it over again I’m sure they’d make sure they got a little more from it.

Mike Jackson himself doesn’t sound too thrilled with the lack of return Seattle got when they dealt him either, and it sounds like it’s providing a chip on his shoulder as he prepares to host his former team this weekend.

On The Freshness Of One's Potato Crisps

In a locker room interview with the media, Jackson refers to what Seattle got in the trade as “nothing”. He then corrects himself to “a bag of chips”. He then lands on his final summation of Seattle’s return as “a stale bag of chips”. Maybe he’s not overtly furious about this, but he hasn’t forgotten, and it feels like he took it as a statement on what he felt the team valued him at.

Later in the clip, he references a moment where he realized the team was going to get rid of him. Walking into a room to meet with a coach, he spied a depth chart, where they had a player they had just drafted in the 5th (or 7th) round ahead of him. This probably references Nehemiah Pritchett, a 5th round pick in 2024, but could also be D.J. James, who was a 6th rounder.

He then mentions the fact that the team had him take a pay cut, which made it even more clear there wasn’t a lot of interest in retaining him going into the season. He doesn’t sound especially angry in the clip, but it’s clear that he remembers these things, and sees a great opportunity for him to teach his former team, first hand, how good of a player he’s become since the trade.

I Will Have My Vengeance, In This Late Season Matchup Or The Next

There’s a long, long history of players seeking revenge on former teams in head to head matchups. My personal favorite is Steve Smith (another Sr!), who promised ‘blood and guts’ in the 2014 season after getting cut by the Carolina Panthers if whichever team signed him played against the Panthers.

The Ravens picked him up and Smith delivered, with seven catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns in their matchup against the Panthers. That’s obviously the really important part. It’s not enough to seek revenge, you have to actually get it.

Dee Ford left Kansas City after helping blow a trip to the Super Bowl for them in 2018, went to the 49ers, played his former team in the Super Bowl, and did very little as his defense blew a double-digit, 4th quarter lead. Not much to remember there.

We’ll see which outcome Jackson gets this weekend. On some level, he’s already won, as his much improved play since arriving in Carolina secured him an eight-figure contract that will likely multiply a few times over when he’s extended in the offseason. But can he make the Seattle Seahawks regret letting him go for such a paltry return?

This weekend is his chance.

Carolina Panthers defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley (left) and cornerback Mike Jackson (2) during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Day The Music Died (Or Was Traded Three Thousand Miles East)

A (High-End Starter That Falls Just A Little Short Of Being A) Star Is Born

On The Freshness Of One's Potato Crisps

I Will Have My Vengeance, In This Late Season Matchup Or The Next

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