Technically there won’t be a quarterback competition for the Seahawks this summer, as there supposedly was in 2022 when Geno Smith and Drew Lock had a very quick and one-sided battle to decide who should start for Seattle. Regardless of how much projected backup Sam Howell improves this offseason, Smith is still by far the team’s best option to start in Week 1.
However, the nature of what Smith does for a living means he can’t ever stop competing. Every week, every day he has to prove himself not only against opponents but teammates and potential draft picks and free agents. Smith understands that as well as anyone, telling the media yesterday that he’s got everything to prove. Geno also knows he’s competing with Sam and vice versa.
The Seahawks said after the Sam Howell trade that Smith is their QB1. But does he feel a need to prove himself to the new staff?
"New coaching staff, old coaching staff — I've got everything to prove. That's every day … I'm competing with Sam. I know he's competing with me."
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) April 10, 2024
While Smith is still the guy for now we can’t totally write off Howell replacing him as QB1 some day down the line. After all, Howell is 10 years younger than Smith and still has plenty of time to develop into something special if that’s in the stars for him.
Coming out of the 2022 draft class, our best and worse-case comp for Howell was Baker Mayfield, who’s had a rollercoaster of a career. Last season the Buccaneers got the best out of him to the tune of over 4,000 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 94.6 passer rating. Assuming that the two-high safety trend isn’t going anywhere, those are numbers you can definitely live with and make the playoffs with in the modern NFL. There’s also a distinct chance that Howell’s ceiling is higher than Mayfield’s turned out to be.
No matter how this year plays out with Geno Smith, fans should probably expect Howell to compete with another young quarterback – likely a 2024 or 2025 draft pick to start the season after next.
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