Recent video of Sam Howell should excite Seattle Seahawks fans

There was nearly zero risk when the Seattle Seahawks made a move to acquire quarterback Sam Howell this offseason. He started last year for the Washington Commanders and while he led the league with 21 interceptions, he was basically a rookie playing behind an atrocious offensive line. Seattle gave up a third-round selection to get Howell, but he is an inexpensive player under team control for two more seasons.

At this point, Howell is expected to be the backup to Geno Smith. Smith and Howell both have to learn a new offensive system so they would bring any potential quarterback competition to a more even level, but Smith has been a good starter for Seattle for the last two seasons and has a built-in rapport with receivers DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Howell needs to clean up some of his decision-making but that might happen naturally with a better overall offense around him and likely better blocking than he had last year. He might have felt forced to make plays when nothing was truly available. Howell would have had little time to make his decisions since his line was so porous.

Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell shows off arm talent in recent video

One part of Howell's game that has not been in doubt, however, is his arm strength. He can throw to any part of the field with velocity. In fact, if he didn't have as strong of an arm as he has, he potentially doesn't have the confidence to make as many mistakes as he did last season, oddly enough. Howell certainly isn't approaching the rest of his career as if he will be a long-term backup, though.

A recent video of him doing an offseason workout shows how strong his arm is. He throws in rhythm, with velocity, and pinpoint accuracy. Sure, he has no defenders giving him any issues, but the throws are still enticing to watch.

Geno Smith has good arm talent as well, of course. That also hasn't been in question. What is a possibility is that if Smith doesn't run the offense as well as hoped or the team fails to meet general manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald's expectations, the team could release Smith next offseason and save $25 million.

If that happens, Howell, who only has a cap hit of a bit over a million dollars in 2025, could replace Smith as the starter. Howell obviously has the arm talent to be QB1.

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