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Last year, when the Seahawks had two quarterbacks who each were making $4 million per year, coach Pete Carroll said upon the signing of newcomer Tarvaris Jackson that he’d be the starter, even though the rules relating to the finalization of the CBA kept Jackson out of practice while Charlie Whitehurst was in charge of the offense.

This year, Carroll isn’t handing anything either to Jackson or Matt Flynn.

“[W]e are always looking to make the quarterback position as competitive as possible. . . . Tarvaris Jackson was our starter last year and he’s coming in to compete head-to-head for the starting job,” Carroll recently told our pal Joe Rose of WQAM in Miami, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. “It’s my job now to make sure I create a competitive opportunity for both kids to show they can fit in and we’ll go with the best guy and it’s going to make our quarterback position better certainly.”

(On a separate note, why was Carroll doing a radio spot in the city that Flynn spurned? I may have just answered my own question.)

Given Carroll’s proclamation that he’s “always looking to make the quarterback position as competitive as possible,” it’s odd that he would have handed the job to Jackson last season. At the time, the thinking was that Carroll wanted to send a clear message to his team that Jackson was in charge. Perhaps this year Carroll doesn’t need to; Flynn will be earning significantly more than Jackson, making it easier for the locker room to identify the top dog.

Of course, the top dog ultimately could be Ryan Tannehill.