Sam Howell one spot better than hoped in ESPN backup quarterback ranking

Sam Howell was not bad for much of the 2023 NFL season. That is when he still played with the Washington Commanders before he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks this offseason. In his second season in the league, he threw for 21 touchdowns and, sadly, 21 interceptions, but he was also sacked more than 60 times. He did nearly the best he could.

The Seahawks' backup quarterback in 2023 was Drew Lock. Much like Howell, he was expected to never play unless something happened to starter Geno Smith. Due to an injury to Smith, Lock started two games and won one and lost one, and it was not overly horrific. He earned a pay increase by signing with the New York Giants this offseason.

Seattle hired a new offensive coaching staff this offseason, along with an entirely new overall coaching staff, after former head coach Pete Carroll was for all intents and purposes let go and the team hired Mike Macdonald to replace him. Macdonald, nor new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, had any familarity with either Howell or Lock.

Seahawks' Sam Howell outranks Drew Lock in ESPN's backup quarterback ranking

Plus, Geno Smith was expected to be the starter and would have his rightful place as QB1. If Howell played then that meant something happened to Smith. The question would then become whether Seattle was correct to move on from Lock and add Howell. Only playing time would tell.

Neither has played an offensive down this season so far. Smith has remained healthy, and Lock could not beat out Daniel Jones with the Giants. Any attempt to rank the two against each other would seem to be foolish. And yet, ESPN has done just that.

In a backup quarterback ranking by the four-letter network, Howell ranks ninth, and Lock ranks tenth. This would mean that, without any playing time to review, Seattle is still, according to ESPN, better off with Howell than Lock. ESPN's Seth Walder points out Howell's good start to 2023 along with his bad finish, but he says of Lock, "A career minus-5.5 percent completion percentage over expectation (per NFL Next Gen Stats) and 2.9 percent interception rate have contributed to a 41.1 career QBR for Lock."

The bottom line is that the Seahawks are a winner either way. Howell only cost about a million dollars for each year through 2025. Lock is only signed for one season in New York and did so for $5 million. Financially speaking, Seattle comes out the better for having traded for Howell.

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