Sam Howell appears to have never gotten a real chance to show what he can do with the Seattle Seahawks. The team traded for him last offseason, and he played backup to Geno Smith. Howell got a chance to play during one game after Smith was injured, but the results weren't great.
In the second half of Week 15, Howell came into the game in a no-win situation against the Green Bay Packers. Seattle was far behind Green Bay, and it was obvious Howell was going to have to throw the ball a lot. The Packers could tee off on obvious passing downs, and Howell had little time to warm up.
Still, the quarterback looked as if he had never played a professional football game, and did not seem to know the offense. He was inaccurate, and he held onto the ball too long. The Seahawks probably expected better, if not exactly expecting greatness, since Howell had started 17 games for the Washington Commanders in 2023.
The Seahawks trading quarterback Sam Howell back to the Commanders would not be surprising
This offseason, Seattle signed Drew Lock in free agency. Lock was a member of the Seahawks from 2022 through 2023, and when given a few chances to start, he was not terrible. The guaranteed money for Lock isn't much at $2.25 million (including his signing bonus), but it is more than Howell is owed this season.
That would imply Seattle would stick with Lock over Howell to backup Sam Darnold.
According to ESPN, the Seahawks are unsurprisingly open to trading Sam Howell ahead of the 2025 NFL draft. The Seahawks gave the Commanders a third-round choice and a fifth-round selection in return for Howell and a sixth-round pick. If Seattle trades Howell, the team will be lucky to get back a fifth-round choice.
More likely, if Seattle can find a trade partner, a sixth-or-seventh-round choice is a likely return.
The most obvious team the Seahawks might be able to deal with again is the Commanders. Washington has a great young quarterback, Jayden Daniels, but the backup is aging veteran Marcus Mariota. Bringing back Howell does not mean Mariota would need to leave, though. The Commanders could carry three quarterbacks.
While the head coach has changed in Washington since Howell was there in 2023, the quarterbacks coach, Tavita Pritchard, is the same. Howell had a decent year with the Commanders in his one season as the starter, and Pritchard should know how best to use Howell.
Plus, if the Commanders do make a move for Howell and then decide he isn't going to stick on the final 53-man roster, Washington could release Howell and not owe him anything. The quarterback has no guaranteed money on his contract for 2025.
The Seahawks do not currently have a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, so adding one makes sense. That would not be too much for the Commanders to give up to get the popular Howell back. Star receiver Terry McLaurin was quite upset when Howell was traded in 2024, for instance.