Tarvaris Jackson death: Former NFL quarterback dies in car crash, aged 36

Former Vikings, Bills and Seahawks quarterback was part of the 2013 Super Bowl-winning Seattle side

(Getty)

Former National Football League quarter-back Tarvaris Jackson has died after being involved in a car accident on Sunday night, aged 36.

The ex-Seattle Seahawks player was reportedly involved in a crash in Alabama, according to US media outlet TMZ. The tragic news was also announced by NFL Network presenter Ian Rapoport.

Jackson was working for Tennessee State University as the Tigers’s quarterbacks coach.

A spokesperson for TSU confirmed his death on Monday morning.

Local police have told TMZ that Jackson’s car collided with a tree shortly before 9pm on Sunday night in a single-car accident, and he was transferred to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Jackson, known warmly as “TJack” by those close to him, was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft, and spent four tears in Minneapolis before moving on to Seattle in what was the first of two stints with the Seahawks, sandwiching a year with the Buffalo Bills in 2012.

Upon returning to Seattle in 2013, Jackson played back-up to quarterback Russell Wilson as the Seahawks clinched the 2013 Super Bowl, becoming the first back-up quarterback to feature in the season finale in 13 years, and he came within a whisker of repeating the feat in 2015 only for Seattle to lose Super Bowl XLIX 28-24 against the New England Patriots.

He retired from the game following the 2015 season and returned to Alabama State as part of their coaching team before, moving to Tennessee State last year.

Wilson was among the first to tweet in tribute of Jackson, with the current Seahawks quarterback posting on Twitter: “TJack... you will be missed. Praying for your family...Love you man.”

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