Tag: Geno Smith

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.

More Seahawks Wire stories

Ranking the Seahawks position groups from best to worst

Projecting Seattle’s starting lineup before the NFL draft

Updated 90-man roster by jersey number after free agency

Projecting Seahawks 2024 starting lineup for Week 1 after free agency

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.

Seahawks updated 90-man roster by jersey number

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.

[lawrence-related id=690959,690412,694055]

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.

More Seahawks Wire stories

NFL free agency: 6 former Seahawks who are still available

Breaking down Seattle’s picks from NFL.com mock draft

Seahawks go defense-first in this seven-round mock draft

John Schneider says the Seahawks wanted to re-sign Drew Lock

Apparently the Giants sold Drew Lock on competing for the starting job with Daniel Jones.

The Seahawks made a significant change at quarterback last week, pulling off a surprise trade for Sam Howell of the Commanders. The teams swapped picks as part of the deal. According to one trade value chart, Seattle gave up a seventh-round draft pick. Another says that they gave up a third-rounder, but we’re going to go with the former for mental health’s sake.

Seattle had an opening beneath Geno Smith on their depth chart at quarterback after watching backup Drew Lock sign a one-year deal with the Giants, worth $5 million. Last week when Schneider spoke with ESPN radio, he said the team wanted to bring Lock back, but apparently the Giants sold him on competing for the starting job with Daniel Jones, per Brady Henderson.

You can’t always trust what NFL GMs tell you, but in this case we believe Schneider, at least about wanting to keep Lock around. If it’s true that the Giants did sell Lock on competing with Jones then there’s a real chance he might beat him out for the job.

However, if the original plan was to keep Lock as Geno’s top understudy then Seattle got an upgrade in Howell. While he has much the same skillset, Howell is four years younger than Lock and is now under contract for the next two seasons for a little over $2 million, according to Over the Cap. That’s significantly less than what Lock’s getting just this year alone.

It’s also clear that John Schneider definitely has a type at quarterback. That will be something to watch going forward.

In a vacuum we like the Howell trade but if it prevents the team from using one of their picks in the upcoming 2024 NFL draft on a quarterback prospect then it’s a bust.

More Seahawks Wire stories

Ranking all 32 NFL teams after 2024 free agency

Updated depth chart after first wave of free agency

Every NFL team’s biggest move to start free agency

2024 NFL mock draft: Post-free agency projections

Mike Macdonald: Ryan Grubb ‘very much in control’ of Seahawks offense

Macdonald’s instinct to give Grubb the reins may remind Seahawks fans of their last head coach.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald won’t commit to saying that Geno Smith will start Week 1, even though he’s obviously the best candidate on the roster to do so right now. However, Macdonald has committed to offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who was the most important hire that he made while building up his 23 assistants deep 2024 coaching staff.

Last week when Macdonald was on Sports Radio 93.3 KJR radio, he said he wants to empower Grubb and trusts him to build his scheme, per the team website.

“I want to empower him to build the offense the way he sees it, but one of the reasons I was so excited about hiring him is just the type of person he is, and his track record throughout his entire career, and how he sees the game. I felt like our value system as people and as football coaches align, so I have all the trust in him in the world in how he builds his scheme out and how he empowers our staff. He’s very much in control of what we’re doing.”

Macdonald’s instinct to give Grubb the reins may remind Seahawks fans of their last head coach. One of the things that endeared Pete Carroll to players and assistants was empowering them. Sometimes to his own detriment Carroll let his coordinators call their own shots. (Can you imagine Pete not running the ball at the one-yard line?)

In any case, while we’re happy with Macdonald, keeping Grubb around may be difficult. The impetus behind hiring an offensive head coach is that talented play callers tend to move on to a head coach job after only a year or two max of success. Just how long they Seahawks will be able to retain Grubb if he does live up to the hype could be one of their major challenges in the coming years.

More Seahawks Wire stories

Seahawks trade down 3 times in pre-free agency mock draft

Ranking all 32 NFL teams by draft capital going into 2024

One free agent for the Seahawks to target at each position

Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald does not commit to Geno Smith as starting QB

Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald does not commit to Geno Smith as starting QB

Earlier this offseason, the Seattle Seahawks made it clear quarterback Geno Smith was going to be on this roster for the 2024 season. After restructuring his contract, Smith got commitment from the organization that he is in their plans for the upcoming campaign.

However, simply being on the team seems to be the only commitment he is getting at this time. It is a new regime in Seattle, with a brand new coaching staff. Head coach Mike Macdonald recently went on the radio to talk about his quarterback.

So far, it does not seem like Macdonald is in a hurry to ensure Smith’s starting status for him.

Of course, this is an entirely fair position for Macdonald to have at this time. He is brand new to the head coaching world, and is working with an offensive coordinator who is also enjoying his first NFL stop at this position. It is only logical they would want to evaluate what it is they have in Smith and to see if he can do what they expect of him in their system.

Ultimately, unless a rookie quarterback they draft blows them away, at this time it is probably still a safe bet to assume Smith will be the starter when Week 1 rolls around.

More Seahawks Wire stories

One free agent for the Seahawks to target at each position

Mock draft: Seahawks go Illinois defense in Round 1 again

17 newly released free agents who might interest Seattle

3 quarterbacks among key pieces to watch before NFL free agency begins

Here’s the latest news on three key players who could be on the move this week.

The Seattle Seahawks have toppled the first quarterback domino of the NFL’s 2024 offseason. Last week the team made a commitment to veteran Geno Smith, which means he should be slated to start in Week 1 no matter what else the team gets up to between now and September.

One week from now the legal tampering period will begin, which is effectively the start of free agency. Before that happens we may yet see a few quarterbacks change teams. Here’s all the latest news on three key players who could be on the move this week, including former Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson.