Seahawks really do have a backup quarterback battle after all

The Seahawks ended their preseason with another win, this one over the Oakland Raiders. But now the Seahawks may actually have a question to ask themselves about who their backup quarterback should be.

Well, there shouldn’t have been a real backup quarterback competition after the first two preseason games, but there certainly is one now. Trevone Boykin was excellent early in the preseason. But lately…not so much.

Austin Davis

Davis is not a spectacular player. He is far more conservative and less athletic than Russell Wilson. Or Boykin, for that matter. But this is a backup quarterback I am talking about. The Seahawks do not need flashiness. The team needs a player who won’t lose them games to step in should Wilson be hurt. The way Boykin has played the last two preseason games, that last bit is in doubt with him. He could lose Seattle some games.

Davis, though, may be more Trent Dilfer than Kurt Warner. And this could be a good thing. On Thursday, Davis led a late drive that resulted in the game-winning touchdown. The Seahawks scored with 1:10 remaining on a pass from Davis to Kenny Lawler. Davis was 5 for 5 on the drive. He looked calm. He looked poised. In fact, he was everything that Boykin has not been the last two games.

After the game coach Pete Carroll said, “He’s done very well. He’s had good outings. This was really a great showing for him..” Carroll also said Davis would be a good backup quarterback “somewhere.” And interesting word, no?

Davis quarterback rating last week against the Kansas City Chiefs was 158.3. Against the Raiders it was 107.0. Combined the last two weeks, Davis is 15 of 21 for 187 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers.

Trevone Boykin

Boykin’s quarterback rating the last two weeks is 40.7. Still, Carroll clearly wants Boykin to prove his value to the Seahawks. Carroll said on Thursday, “…he’s had a terrific preseason for us, I think, all in all. He obviously was stronger in his first two games than the last two, but he shows us he can do a lot of stuff for us. We can move the football and he can make plays for us.”

Related Story: Seahawks vs Raiders: initial reaction of the first half

Roster cuts come on Saturday at 1 pm PT. The Seahawks have three questions about the backup quarterback situation they must answer. 1) Does Seattle keep Boykin for his potential and ability to make plays and cut Davis? 2) Do the Seahawks cut Boykin and go with the safer option of Davis? 3) Does the team keep both quarterbacks as they simply do not feel safe with either Davis or Boykin as the sole backup?