As they face life without Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks likely have another quarterback move up their sleeve this offseason. Whether it’s through free agency, a trade, or the draft, they should seek out a contingency plan or two alongside Drew Lock.
Speaking on the Seattle Sports 710 Mike Salk Show (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk), head coach Pete Carroll expressed his desire to re-sign Geno Smith.
“I’d like to get Geno hooked up and get him back in (here),” Carroll said. “He showed us a good deal of command of our offense when he played last year and he has a terrific understanding of it so he’s out in front of the other guys that are involved in the competition in that regard.”
Smith played four games (three starts) in place of an injured Wilson last year. Despite only tallying 702 passing yards, he notched a strong 68.4 percent completion rate and 103.0 quarterback rating.
His play impressed Carroll enough to want him back, perhaps to compete for another starting opportunity.
“By the time he got a couple games under his belt after sitting for three or four years, he functioned in the Jacksonville game as well as you can function and he had a beautiful game there. And that looked like the culmination of his return, kind of,” Carroll said, “And unfortunately we didn’t get to capitalize to see what the next step would be because Russ came back and played. But [Smith] popped the ball around, he was fast with the football and got it out and did some really cool things. So that’s the first thing.”
Carroll added that there are “other options out there” and the team will “see what comes next.” The ever-optimistic Carroll also called Lock a “really good prospect to get.”
That’s not great news for Seahawks fans who would rather see the team acquire Baker Mayfield from the Cleveland Browns or draft Malik Willis with the No. 9 pick. However, those moves may not be mutually exclusive, as they signed Smith to a one-year deal for a modest $1.075 million salary last year.
Retaining Smith wouldn’t necessarily mean he’d replace Wilson as Seattle’s starter. Yet based on Carroll’s praise and the team’s lackluster depth chart, it might represent the 31-year-old’s best chance at earning significant playing time.
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