It turned into a waiting game. As soon as the NFL Lockout ended, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider went to work, signing a number of big free agents.

The only problem? Free agents couldn’t practice until the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was signed. So they waited. Then waited some more.

“It was so boring,” said wide receiver Sidney Rice after his first practice Aug. 4. “We hated it. Tarvaris (Jackson) talked about his back, complaining about his back the whole week just from standing around all day. He was pretty upset. I know he was happy to be out here today as well.”

Even that Aug. 4 practice didn’t start without a little more waiting. The players suited up and prepared to practice, only to be told the league wasn’t quite ready. After about a 20-minute delay, the players finally got on the field.

“We thought we were being pranked for a minute, with everybody just standing out there with their pads on,” Rice said.

For Jackson, every minute from the first practice will be crucial. Carroll named Jackson the starting quarterback, but he will have had just a week of practice before Seattle’s Aug. 11 preseason opener against the San Diego Chargers.

“It’s a challenge but it’s just part of it,” Jackson said. “We just come out here, work hard every day and hope we’ll be all right and we’ll be ready.”