Before the start of the 2015 regular season, Fred Jackson was released by the Buffalo Bills on a Monday, flew to Seattle for a physical on Tuesday, flew back to Buffalo on Wednesday, watched the Seahawks play their final preseason game on Thursday, and officially inked a deal with the blue and green the following Monday.
The nine-year veteran running back chronicled that whirlwind start with the Seahawks in a recent post for The Players' Tribune, where Jackson credits longtime friend and former Buffalo Bills teammate Marshawn Lynch for helping ease his transition to the Pacific Northwest.
Below, check out a short excerpt from Jackson's post, titled My Toughest Road Trip.
"Any time you get thrust into a situation that you're unfamiliar with, it's always good to have somebody there that you can lean on. When Marshawn started his career in Buffalo back in 2007, we were like brothers. Everybody knew that if they saw Marshawn, I probably wasn't far away. We were always together. To this day, he's still like a little brother to me, and I'm like a big brother to him. So having never played in another NFL locker room outside of Buffalo, I knew having Marshawn there in Seattle would make my transition a lot easier.
When I first got to Seattle, I didn't have a car. I asked Marshawn if he had a car I could borrow, and he threw me a set of keys.
It didn't matter the question. He's never hesitated to help.
*Where can I go to get this? *Marshawn's got me.
Could you take me to go get that? Marshawn's got me.
*What's 'Jet protection' mean? *Marshawn's got me.
My whole time so far in Seattle, he's looked out for me like family, because he's the closest thing to family I have out in Seattle. Without Marshawn, I don't know how I would have been able to adjust as quickly as I have."
Click here to read Jackson's full post for The Players' Tribune.
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