The Seahawks may be having an open competition for their starting QB spot. However, veteran Geno Smith‘s familiarity with the offense gives him the early lead over newcomer Drew Lock. During a recent radio appearance, Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron admitted that Smith is the current front runner for the starting gig.
“Right now, Geno has done such a good job of carrying over (the offensive principles from 2021). He already had a head start over Drew right there,” Waldron (h/t to Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). “We have a long time to go. We are just in T-shirts and shorts right now, going against air. We have a long way to go to see where this competition (goes).”
The Seahawks were apart of the quarterback carousel when they dealt Russell Wilson to Denver, but they surprisingly haven’t been on the receiving end of the continuous turnover. The team has seemingly distanced themselves from available QBs like Baker Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo, and they’re prepared to navigate this post-Wilson era with either Smith, who spent the last three seasons as Seattle’s backup, or Lock, a former second-round pick acquired in the Broncos trade.
It’s obviously in the organization’s best interest to develop the 25-year-old Lock vs. the 31-year-old Smith, although Lock’s impending free agency certainly adds some uncertainty to the situation. Lock has largely struggled as a starter, and while the ex-Mizzou prospect did play in two offensive systems in his first two years, Teddy Bridgewater beat him out for Denver’s QB1 job last year and held him off throughout the Broncos’ time in playoff contention. This came after the strong-armed passer tied for the 2020 interception lead, with 15, despite missing three-plus games. Smith has made five starts over the past seven seasons. Three of those came last season, with the former second-round pick did show some promise, completing 68% of his passes on 7.4 yards per attempt — numbers superior to his Jets-era work, albeit in a small sample size — and finishing with a 5-to-1 TD-INT ratio.
Hawks are going to be awful this year. New GM, HC, & QB next year.
Zero.cjance they fire the the HC or GM. If thheu were in danger of losing their jobs they would’ve addressed the QB this off-season. They’re clearly waiting for next year’s draft to find their new franchise QB. They have 2 1st and 2nd round picks.
If they were going to fire Pete and John, then they wouldn’t have traded RW. They would have fired them and hired Nathaniel Hackett.
We’ll see. At the end of the season, the owner was actively getting more involved and throughout the media complaining about the direction of the team.
Yes. I remember. Then they traded RW and kept Pete and John. I think that the organizational belief, including ownership, is that no roster that has a $40 million plus QB can compete for Championships. When they had a choice to make, they chose Pete and John. I doubt they will change their minds again after trading away the best player in the history of the franchise.
Ever hear of Brees, or P Manning? They both owned well over 25% of the cap and won SB’s. Heck Rams won w/ an expensive QB last year. Even Eli was given a monumental raise after his 1st SB and won again.
He said organizational belief, not personal belief.
That also doesn’t jive with public comments by the owner, GM, and HC. All of them said they only looked to trade Russell after he intimated that he wanted out. They were happy to pay market rate for the most important position in football.
“I think that the organizational belief”… sounds like a personal belief to me.
I don’t think They are “happy to pay market rate” for many positions. Pete and John don’t value the QB position like others do. Look at where they have invested draft resources and cap space…Safety (Diggs and Adams). Seattle reached out to Denver to trade RW not the other way around. Personally, I would never trade the best player in the history of the franchise for a handful of lottery tickets and drew Lock. Those of you who have seen my posts know how stupid I think that trade was.
while u could technically be onto something , not valuing the QB position means you’ll end up with what you had last year and probably this year.
getting lucky with a guy like Wilson r5 or wtvr is insanely rare
.. let alone RW was similar to Dak Prescott in that a lot of fans knew he was nasty and were confused by the huge slide on draft day.
also RW absolutely made it clear he wanted out of Seattle for about 2 years leading up to the trade.
I know that RW said he wanted out of Seattle. He was under club control, so it doesn’t really matter. What he wanted was away from Pete’s offense and John’s roster construction, not Seattle traffic and rainy weather. He didn’t go to LA or New York. He is in Denver, for crying out loud. When Pete, John, and RW could no longer work it out together, ownership chose Pete and John. That was my original point and why I don’t think they will be fired anytime soon.
Thanks Dawg! We will find out who is correct. The proof will be in the pudding.
You can’t have a QB competition unless you actually have two QBs on the roster. Seattle has nothing…
whoever worse wins the job. tank a thon
At this point just take a flyer on mayfield in hopes he has a bounce-back year, shouldn’t need more than a 6th round pick
Agreed. Though I would recommend simply waiting until Baker is inevitably released. He will pick Seattle regardless because it’s his best opportunity to start. The browns already proclaimed Brissett their backup QB, Baker will not stay in Cleveland third string.
Browns are on the hook for Mayfield’s 18.8 million this season and will keep him on the roster unless they get the right deal.
I’d assume they end up eating that 18 mil and watch him play elsewhere
wouldn’t be the first time a browns decision didn’t work out
They can tell him to stay home. I think if they do cut him, it’ll be very late in camp so he can’t hook up with another team and be their starter week 1.
The “right deal” is any deal dude. They will cut him because he will be a “problem” if they don’t. I wouldn’t sit in a dark film room with Watson either.
Trash can is -125 to win the starting gig. Geno is +800 and Drew is +400.
Seattle should sign any young-ish QB who hasn’t get washed out in the NFL (i.e. not more Locks) and see what sticks.
lock kinda counts as youngish qb
yeah but he sucks. I’m talking guys with upside.
I think he has more upside than most.
nfl qb is pretty hard to find. can’t necessarily pull one out of a hat.
not saying Lock is any good, but theres a lot of baseline traits needed to even attempt to develop a starting qb at this level
Pete and John think Lock is that guy. I agree that he is not. They are not in the QB market because they think they have one.
Should have signed Kyle Sloter.
He can out play Locke and Smith.
+1 and traded for Minshew.
Having Minshew, Lock, and Sloter would be a pretty cool aftermath to WIlson.
Hes been cut by 7 different NFL teams. We’re good bro 🙂
You could do worse than Geno Smith at QB… like Drew Lock for example!
I actually disagree. you really can’t do worse than Geno Smith.
and even Geno fared well in Carrols offense. think they will get the best out of Lock(22nd best qb).
people talk smack on PC, but he’s an amazing coach. top tier. maximizes the potential of every player, seems like anyone with upside works out there.
that’s a tough division, tough situation, and roster has been lacking talent along the lines.
if Hawks aren’t in that division I think we see a completely different strategy going into this year.
but with the Rams being a Madden Franchise & Zona not far behind , it’s definitely the right move tank and set the time-line back a few years
I agree, the Seahawks will get the “best out of” Drew Lock. I still think that his best is not very good. I think they got the best out of LJ Collier too. He just isn’t good at playing edge rusher in the NFL. I’m sure Drew Lock is a nice dude and everything. He was behind Teddy Bridgewater in Denver and is trailing Geno Smith in Seattle. He isn’t good at playing QB in the NFL.
Literally, anyone but Geno.
I like Lock…as a career backup. Dude just isn’t a starter.