The Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings, in a way, simply swapped quarterbacks this offseason. Sam Darnold left Minnesota as a free agent and signed with Seattle. He got a contract worth a maximum of $100.5 million over three years. Sam Howell was traded by Seattle to the Vikings during the draft.
Howell had no home with the Seahawks. The team had already signed both Darnold and Drew Lock in the offseason, and then took Jalen Milroe in the draft. This was all before Howell was dealt.
But Seattle could have made things even easier. Trade Geno Smith, which the team did, sign Darold, which obviously happened, drafted Milroe, but simply held onto Howell. He still had a year remaining on his contract and was only going to get paid around $1 million. Signing Lock was more expensive.
Sam Howell's preseason brilliance might make the Seattle Seahawks look foolish
Lock, of course, has played with Seattle before, but didn't do enough to show he could ever be a long-term QB1. Howell had less of a chance in the one season he played for the Seahawks. He entered one game in an impossible situation when the team was getting blown out by the Green Bay Packers, and Seattle was forced to throw.
Coming cold off the bench is never easy, but for someone who hadn't played a down with the team they were on and were getting badly beaten, it's an unfair situation. Howell was terrible, but that didn't mean he was always going to be terrible. Still, the Seahawks gave up on him, and away he went.
In the Seahawks' first preseason game, Drew Lock faced many of the Las Vegas Raiders' starters and wasn't very good at first. He threw a bad interception, ending an otherwise promising drive. He did have a touchdown toss before he left the game, but that was against Vegas backups. Lock finished 12 of 22 for 147 yards with the TD and the pick.
Meanwhile, Howell played tremendously for the Vikings in his preseason debut. He didn't throw a touchdown pass, but did run for one. He also finished 11 of 13 for 105 yards and was under control. Maybe Howell will succeed with Minnesota because of the offensive brilliance of head coach Kevin O'Connell, and Howell was a bad fit in former Seattle offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb's system.
That probably wasn't Howell's fault. Grubb's system was a bad one for the NFL.
But Howell wasn't awful in his one season as a starter in the NFL, which was with the Washington Commanders in 2023. His limited time with Seattle shouldn't have implied that he would be bad in a better offensive system.
Ultimately, Sam Howell might be quite good for the Minnesota Vikings if he has to play QB1 snaps, and Drew Lock will remain inconsistent if he has to start for the Seattle Seahawks. It might have been better (and cheaper) to just keep Sam Howell in Seattle.