The Seattle Seahawks and Geno Smith came to an agreement to keep Smith in town for another three years. It’s a good deal for both sides. Plus, the deal ensures that Seattle can keep building on what was a very promising season into the future.
But now that Geno’s secured his future with the Seahawks, that still leaves Seattle with just one QB on the roster. Very little has been said about Drew Lock and Jacob Eason is already gone. Neither Michael Penix nor Cameron Ward has declared for this year’s draft, making Ben DiNucci of the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons the only other QB in the state that’s taken a snap in any professional capacity in the last calendar year.
Any student of football history can tell you that having a good backup plan at QB is of paramount importance to a team with legitimate playoff aspirations. Even Tom Brady, perhaps the greatest QB in NFL history, only ever seized that moniker because he was prepared to step in for Drew Bledsoe one fateful day in September of 2001.
Will the Seahawks keep looking for a QB now that Geno Smith has re-signed?
Pete Carroll seems to agree and has expressed multiple times that the Seahawks are looking closely at this year’s QB class, regardless of Geno Smith’s status with the team. After all, Smith’s contract is only a three-year deal, with an easy opt-out after the 2024 season that would cost the Seahawks just $12 million. The Seahawks’ long-term future at the position is still very much in question. So, what are some potential options for them to look at?
The Seahawks Lazarus Project: Bring back Drew Lock and make him Geno’s protégé.
Not everyone agrees with this particular opinion I hold, especially in retrospect, but what I saw from Drew Lock last preseason was not far off from what I saw from Geno. Smith’s accuracy was a bit more dialed in, and both QBs suffered from a lack of receiver depth. It’s fair to say, at least to me, that a lot of the preseason offensive struggles had to do with receivers being unable to separate from defenders and dropping passes on key downs.
Lock made better decisions than I was expecting, though. He doesn’t have Geno’s unwavering willingness to jackhammer the ball into any crevasse, but you could count on him to lead an offense with tempo and prudence. With time, he could absolutely develop into a quality starter.
However, Lock is already 26 and free from his rookie contract. That, of course, means that the Seahawks might get one year of Lock starting for backup money. Anything beyond that, they’re paying full price for.
Additionally, Lock does still have some accuracy issues to iron out. He’s a talented passer with a railgun strapped to his shoulder, but the calibrations are still a bit off. That’s something that can be fixed with practice, but it does still mean he’s a work in progress, with only marginally more polish than any potential draftee.
Lock isn’t a perfect prospect by any means. But with pre-programmed knowledge of the offense and above-average athleticism, in many ways, he’s a better prospect for Seattle’s future at QB than all but a few options.
The Chosen One: Go get Anthony Richardson and make him the Seahawks’ Pat Mahomes.
If you’ve been paying any amount of attention to this year’s draft rumors, then you’re aware that Anthony Richardson has become the darling of draft pundits and film analysts alike. At 6’4″ and 244 pounds, with as big an arm as anyone in this class, it should come as no surprise, really. The only QB prospects who compare are all-time athletes like Cam Newton and Daunte Culpepper.
And it seems Pete Carroll may have a star or two in his eyes when he looks at Richardson, as well. Rumor has it that Richardson was far and away the most impressive rookie in the team interview portion of the combine, as well, with special mention made of the Seahawks and their interview with the titanic Gator.
Richardson has a lot of the traits that won Geno Smith, Russell Wilson, and Tarvaris Jackson starting jobs over more conventional options Carroll has had to choose from over the last dozen years. The upside is beyond obvious, and it’s Madden-esque in its sheer physics-defying absurdity. Assuming the best possible scenario, Richardson could be an unholy combination of young and veteran Randall Cunningham, both frighteningly athletic and deadly accurate from a standstill.
But if there was no risk with Richardson, it wouldn’t even be worth discussing Seattle potentially grabbing him with the 5th overall pick, especially with two QB-needy teams sitting squarely in front of them. And the risk with Richardson is equally obvious as the upside – he has a lot of refining to do in order to reach that sky-high potential. His footwork is still sloppy, and he lacks quite a bit in the more technical aspects of quarterbacking, which, for any QB desiring a longer shelf life than Colin Kaepernick, are a necessity at the NFL level.
It’s hard to argue that this isn’t the most exciting option the Seahawks have on the table, though. And if you’re still not convinced, imagine, if you will, the most physically imposing QB of all time throwing to the most physically imposing receiver of all time. That’s exactly what the Seahawks can offer with Anthony Richardson and DK Metcalf both on the roster.
The Seahawks Tao Te Ching: Sign Jacoby Brissett short-term and wait until next year to draft a QB
The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu preached, among other things, the effectiveness of detachment versus the corruption of ambition. That is to say, oftentimes, in the pursuit of endless improvement, it can be all too easy to lose sight of the bigger picture and ignore the realities that are staring one dead in the face.
In this instance, the reality for the Seahawks is that the defensive line was largely listless last season, even with improvement from Darrell Taylor and the steadiness of Uchenna Nwosu. The offensive interior could also use some work as well. Austin Blythe was a stopgap for a better center even before he retired, and Gabe Jackson simply hasn’t been the answer at right guard.
This draft is lousy with defensive linemen. Even assuming Will Anderson gets scooped up and Jalen Carter has too many flags on his portfolio, Tyree Wilson would also be a chalkboard pick at 1.05. Further back, there are even more possibilities, like Lukas Van Ness, Bryan Breese, Nolan Smith, Myles Murphy, and Mazi Smith. The Seahawks could turn their roster into an eldritch horror simply by choosing to wait a year to draft a QB.
And it’s not like the 2024 draft is bereft of options under center. In fact, two very good options exist within state boundaries, between the Washington Huskies’ star QB Michael Penix, Jr. and WSU Cougars star Cameron Ward. For the truly daring, trading for a chance at USC Trojans’ phenom Caleb Williams isn’t out of the question, either. Drake Maye and Spencer Rattler also join the board as intriguing names across the country.
Truthfully, whether or not the backup is Brissett or Baker Mayfield or Mike White or Sam Darnold or anyone else in this scenario, it’s completely immaterial. Anyone who can run the offense competently and keep the offense on schedule will do. That’s all you can truthfully ask from a backup QB.
That’s one of the luxuries that locking up Geno Smith for the next few years brings – it’s not necessary to have all the answers for five years from now right this second. At the end of the day, Seattle’s in a good spot for the future. Plus, more important than knowing exactly who they want under center in 2030 is knowing that their QB, whoever that may be, will be supported by a good team with a strong foundation.