Tag: Geno Smith

Seahawks high on Sam Howell, expected to bypass QBs in 2024 NFL draft

The real focus of this draft should be at the line of scrimmage, which is where the biggest gulf is between Seattle and potential Super Bowl teams.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider likes to talk about drafting quarterbacks every year, which is what the Packers front office would have taught him when he was coming up as an executive. However, in practice Seattle has mostly avoided drafting quarterbacks and seems to strongly prefer players with pro experience over rookies at this spot.

The 2024 NFL draft offers a deep and strong class of QBs. However, the latest buzz coming via Adam Schefter at ESPN suggests they won’t be picking one because they feel comfortable with Sam Howell backing up Geno Smith. Here’s what Schefter is hearing regarding Seattle.

“With regards to Penix, though, it should be pointed out that the Seahawks are high on quarterback Sam Howell, whom they traded for last month, and feel he offers some unique advantages. The 23-year-old Howell started 18 NFL games for the Commanders, is the same age as Penix (and Daniels) and is one year younger than Bo Nix (Oregon). Macdonald and the Seahawks feel they have invested in their future at the position with a player who already has game experience. Bypassing a quarterback also would be consistent with Seattle and continue an odd trend for the franchise.”

This does make sense on some levels, especially considering Howell’s age compared to most of the ’24 quarterbacks. The Seahawks also have a very solid starter in Geno Smith, who seems to be getting better with age rather than declining.

Then again, we have to remember that teams gain exactly nothing from even suggesting their plans to a reporter – especially with three days to go before the draft. Also, history shows the team rarely if ever goes with the conventional wisdom about what they’re planning. Seattle has also met with several QBs, including JJ McCarthy, Bo Nix and Spencer Rattler.

Our best guess is that they would like to take a quarterback but won’t force it. If Michael Penix is still on the board at No. 16 overall or Rattler at 81 then they will at least strongly consider it.

However, the real focus of this draft should be at the line of scrimmage, which is where the biggest gulf is between Seattle and potential Super Bowl teams. Last season they were dominated on both sides of the line by every contender they played with the exception of Detroit.

Over the years Green Bay has proven there’s value in the long run in drafting quarterbacks before you need them. However, the quickest path back to the playoffs for this team right now is building up those offensive and defensive lines.

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Geno Smith posts fastest time for the Seahawks in 2024 offseason

There are several far superior athletes on the roster, but Geno Smith’s competitive fire continues to set the pace for the Seattle Seahawks heading towards the 2024 season.

There are several far superior athletes on the roster, but Geno Smith’s competitive fire continues to set the pace for the Seattle Seahawks heading towards the 2024 season.

Yesterday Smith shared a photo of a chart at the team facility which shows the fastest speeds players have clocked so far this offseason. Smith was at the top of the list, checking in at 21.67 miles per hour – just edging out third-year cornerback Riq Woolen for the crown.

It’s always a good thing when your quarterback is the best athlete on your roster – but what really matters is that they have what Smith displayed here – the will to win. In no world is Smith actually faster than Woolen or Devon Witherspoon or any number of the skill players on this list, but as we saw in the fourth quarter over and over again this past season Smith has another gear that he can reach as a competitor that most at this level don’t.

Our best guess is that 2024 will be Smith’s last year as a starter, even though he has another year on his contract. However, we’re also learning that you really can’t count him out. As a bridge quarterback Smith shouldn’t have lasted as QB1 as long as he has. Only through sheer willpower has he managed to hang onto that job.

Smith will never be as popular as Russell Wilson or Matt Hasselbeck were at their peak, but I think we’re going to look back on this Geno Smith era much more fondly than the average fan believes.

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Every move the Seattle Seahawks have made in the 2024 offseason

Next week the offseason will culminate in the 2024 NFL draft, so let’s take a moment today to review what the team has done so far.

It’s been an eventful offseason for the Seattle Seahawks and their fans to say the least. It began with a thrilling one-point win over the division rival Arizona Cardinals, followed immediately by a short-lived but silly controversy over cigar smoking in the locker room. Since then the team has changed head coaches, totally remade the back end of their defense and brought in another backup quarterback via trade.

Next week the offseason will culminate in the 2024 NFL draft, which is the main event of the non-football season calendar. Let’s take a moment today to review what the team has done so far. Here are all 32 of their major moves this offseason.

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Geno Smith comments on competing with backup QB Sam Howell

Even though there’s technically no QB battle, Geno Smith knows he’s competing with Sam Howell and vice versa.

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.

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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Let’s review the changes to the starting lineup.

The Seattle Seahawks have made some major shakeups to their roster over the last six weeks or so. This is when we’ve really felt the Pete Carroll era ending and the begining of a new chapter for the organization.

Let’s review the changes to the starting lineup.

Offense

On this side of the ball things are much the same as when the 2023 season ended, with the exception of the offensive line. At left tackle and right tackle Charles Cross and Abe Lucas are still penned in, respectively. However, the rest of the line is in the middle of a total makeover. For now there are no true left guards on the roster and only a couple of unproven options at center and right guard. We did our best to fill in those spots while the work to build out the roster is still ongoing.

Defense

It’s a different story on defense, where a ton of changes have taken place on the back end. At safety Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams are out, and Julian Love and Rayshawn Jenkins will replace them – K’Von Wallace can fill in as the third safety if that’s something head coach Mike Macdonald wants to continue. Linebacker has been totally turned over as well, with Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks getting replaced by Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker in free agency.

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Special teams

With DeeJay Dallas out of the picture the Seahawks needed somebody to step up and take over the kickoff and punt returner roles. For now, we can assume Laviska Shenault and Dee Eskridge will both be involved in the new kickoff rules, which should see teams employing two KRs at a time. At punt returner, our best guess was Cody White – who’s expendable and has some experience doing it in college.

Here are our full projections for the starting lineup after free agency.

Did the Seahawks or Commanders get the better end of the Sam Howell trade?

Another viewpoint on the Commanders’ trade of Sam Howell.

The Washington Commanders traded quarterback Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month in a pick swap that gave Washington the No. 78 overall pick in next month’s 2024 NFL draft.

Seattle gave the Commanders third and fifth-round choices in exchange for fourth and sixth-round picks. Most liked the trade for both teams. Howell, who started all 17 games last season, wouldn’t start for the Commanders in 2024 with a new regime. Holding the No. 2 overall pick gave Washington a chance to draft its quarterback for the future.

From the Commanders’ perspective, it gave them another day-two pick to surround their next quarterback. As for Seattle, it was a small price to pay for a backup quarterback with starting experience. The Seahawks have veteran Geno Smith at quarterback, but some believe Howell could push him.

While most loved the trade for the Commanders, Kevin Patra of NFL.com saw things differently.

He gave the Seahawks an A- and the Commanders a C+.

I like this move by Seattle after Drew Lock left for the New York Giants. The Seahawks received a backup QB with starting experience by moving down a couple of rounds. That’s smart shopping. Not only that, but Howell will count less than $1 million on the cap in 2024 and $1.1 million in 2025, per Over The Cap. Howell played well in spurts, but things started to unravel down the stretch as defenses got more tape on the UNC product. The start of his career has some parallels to Lock’s. Howell turned it over a lot (as did Lock), including 21 INTs in 17 starts in 2023, but he also put up nearly 4,000 yards passing behind a bad offensive line. If Geno Smith gets injured, Howell has enough game play to keep the ship from sinking. The 23-year-old’s skill set should also mesh well with OC Ryan Grubb. Given the low cost — in picks and dollars — Howell’s presence also wouldn’t stop Seattle from adding a rookie QB to the mix this year or next.

The market for backup quarterbacks wasn’t great, particularly given how many we saw play significant snaps last season. Netting a 24-spot move-up and a 27-spot move-up in this year’s draft barely moves the needle for a QB with 18 games of starting experience. Yet, Howell was a former fifth-round pick, not a first-rounder like others who were traded this offseason. The move clears the way for Washington to use the No. 2 overall pick on a quarterback with Marcus Mariota as the veteran mentor. Given the film Mariota put up the past couple of seasons, I’d rather have Howell available if my backup needed actually to play, but from an experience/mentor standpoint, the Commanders’ decision is understandable. The deal also gives Washington six picks in the top 100, which is needed ammo for a club that still requires depth and playmaking after a busy free-agency period.

Patra isn’t wrong here. Many others believed there were better backup options than Mariota, and if you had Howell under a cheap contract for two more seasons, then why not keep him?

The Commanders and general manager, Adam Peters, view Mariota as a perfect mentor/backup. Mariota is a former No. 2 overall pick and has had his highs and lows since entering the NFL. It’s important to remember no one knows if Mariota was Washington’s first choice for a veteran backup.

Howell belongs in the NFL. There is still the potential for him to be a starting quarterback, but that wasn’t happening in Washington. Ultimately, this was a good deal for both sides.

Panthers HC Dave Canales offers ‘fascinating’ insight into Bryce Young’s footwork

When asked how he can reboot QB Bryce Young, Panthers HC Dave Canales got into some pretty deep detail.

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales has a proven recipe for cooking up success under center. But what’s the secret sauce?

Canales joined the set of The Insiders from this year’s Annual League meeting on Tuesday. When asked how he’ll be able to get quarterback Bryce Young going, he offered a pretty intriguing (and detailed) response:

As Canales mentions, the approach did wonders for Russell Wilson, Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield.

While serving as Wilson’s position coach and passing game coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks between 2018 and 2021, Canales helped Mr. Unlimited average 3,720 passing yards, 32.8 touchdowns and just 7.8 interceptions per season. He’d push the team’s next quarterback to a career campaign in 2022, as Geno Smith notched highs in passing yards (4,282) and passing touchdowns (30) as well as a league-leading 69.8-percent completion rate.

His best work, perhaps, came as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator this past year—as he orchestrated the career rejuvenation of former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield. Mayfield, who led the organization to its third straight NFC South title, hit bests in completion percentage (64.3), passing yards (4,044) and passing touchdowns (28).

You’re up, Bryce.

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Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald: Geno Smith is ‘going to be our starter’

There’s not a whole lot Smith can do better than he already is to push the Seahawks to the next level.

Geno Smith is still the man at quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, and his position as QB1 has arguably never been more secure than it is right now. Trading for Sam Howell made it much less likely that Seattle will target a potential new starter in the 2024 NFL draft, giving Smith more breathing room and time to prove he can lead this team on a deep playoff run.

Smith also has the full confidence of the front office – at least according to their public statements. After the Howell trade general manager John Schneider told the media that he will be backing up Smith. Head coach Mike Macdonald echoed the same sentiment this weekend at the league owners meetings in Orlando. Here’s what he said when he was asked if he expects a QB competition, per Tom Pelissero at NFL Network.

“l don’t. I’ve talked to Geno about it. Very confident in Geno. Geno’s going to be our starter. Sam (Howell) knows he’s going to be our backup, but Sam is a great young player, and he’s got a really bright future that we believe in.”

Smith will turn 34 years old about a month into the 2024 season, but if anything he seems to be getting better with age rather than declining. While Smith’s numbers from last season were down compared to 2023 that ignores the context of a league-wide offensive turndown. In many ways, Smith got even better in his second full year as Seattle’s starter, especially in avoiding sacks and throwing under pressure.

Truthfully, there’s not a lot more Smith can do than he already is to push the Seahawks to the next level. The team needs to radically improve on defense and give him a respectable offensive line. If those two things happen a push to the NFC title game is certainly a possibility.

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