Charley Walters thinks T-Jack will be traded or released by Friday -- he thinks a seventh-rounder is the best the Vikings could receive in a trade. Not that I consider Walters the least bit credible, but it's interesting that Jason La Canfora talked to some league personnel executives and reached the same conclusion: Jackson is the odd man out. La Canfora sees a fifth-rounder as the most compensation a T-Jack deal could get for the Vikings.
"There’s not a lot of quarterbacks available," one exec said. "A fifth (round pick) might be too high for him, because he has a ways to go. But there will be a market for him."
None of this is based on any rumors from within the Vikings organization. But I'm in agreement with Walters' and La Canfora's speculation: Sage Rosenfels and John David Booty will likely stay, T-Jack will likely go.
I'm inclined to believe that the rumors of Jackson desiring a trade if Favre joined the team were true -- despite his denial yesterday that he ever said such a thing. Indeed, I'm inclined to believe that a demotion from the 2008 starter to the 2009 third-stringer is enough for T-Jack to want out of Minnesota and seek to start fresh elsewhere.
If he wants to leave, the Vikings should let him go. Try to trade him out of the conference (or at the very least out of the division) and get whatever late-round draft pick they can. Looking beyond the Brett Favre era at the quarterback position, it's time to start over -- whether that be with Rosenfels, a draft pick, or someone else.
There are teams out there that ought to be interested in T-Jack. Sure, it's awfully late in the ballgame to be adding quarterbacks not named Brett Favre, but Jackson is a guy who has a significant amount of experience as a starter, has the athleticism and physical tools to contribute, and could ultimately settle in as a career backup.
In short, I think it's in the Vikings' best interest to cut the cord. I've questioned why Jackson would want to leave a team that has committed so much to him and would seemingly give him another chance once Favre is gone, but the demotion might be too much for him to handle. The T-Jack experiment might finally be coming to an end.