Tag: Jacob Eason

Seahawks: 5 potential quarterback trade scenarios during the 2022 NFL draft

Let’s take a look at a few trade scenarios the team could consider if they’re interested in adding a veteran with a better résumé than Geno Smith.

If the 2022 NFL season were to begin today, the Seahawks would most likely be starting Geno Smith at quarterback. While there are many more talented QBs around the league, Smith’s understanding of their offense is as good as anyone outside Russell Wilson after serving as his backup the last three seasons. Geno also did pretty well in his three starts last year – certainly good enough to start over Drew Lock or any rookie the team might select in the draft later this week.

That said, these Seahawks have enjoyed an extremely rare run of success at this spot. Since 2001 when Matt Hasselbeck took over as QB1, Seattle has had either a strong starter or a Pro-Bowler at the game’s most important position for all but one one year. Only the Packers and the Patriots can claim a better QB-run during that time. So, it’s possible that the fanbase and the front office won’t have the patience for a young prospect to develop into a viable franchise quarterback some day.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few trade scenarios the team could consider if they’re interested in adding a veteran with a better résumé than Geno. Here are five we came up with.

Seahawks QBs Geno Smith, Drew Lock, Jacob Eason begin offseason work

For better or worse, right now this is Geno Smith’s team.

As the offseason program begins, the Seattle Seahawks have three quarterbacks currently on their roster and one Russell Wilson-shaped hole at the top of their depth chart at the game’s most important position.

The rest of them showed up for work this week and began throwing in preparation for the 2022 season. Here’s a look at Geno Smith, Drew Lock and Jacob Eason working out and kidding around at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in gorgeous Renton, WA.

The big question is if the front office will add a fourth quarterback to the mix in next week’s NFL draft. Re-signing Smith to a one-year deal a few days ago could be a sign that they’re not as high on the 2022 QB class as most people think they are.

For better or worse, right now this is Geno’s team. Even if they do draft a rookie, he’s our projected starter for Week 1.

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Seahawks likely won’t draft a QB in 2022 after re-signing Geno Smith

This offseason has demonstrated that you can’t rule out any scenario with 100% certainty, but going forward fans should expect the Seahawks not to take a QB this year.

The Seahawks are re-signing quarterback Geno Smith, which makes him the favorite to be their starter at the outset of the 2022 season. According to Bob Condotta at the Seattle Times, Smith’s contract is a one-year deal with a base salary somewhere between $3.5 million and $4 million with incentives that can push the total up to $7 million.

That’s a big raise for Smith, who earned it with three strong starts during the 2021 season while Russell Wilson was out with his finger injury. While it’s not a huge commitment for a quarterback, this development does likely mean that the Seahawks won’t be using one of their draft picks this year on a quarterback.

For one thing, this QB class is supposed to be pretty weak compared to recent drafts – and especially when compared with the 2023 group. The only prospect that was really worth considering is Liberty’s Malik Willis, whose game has at least a passing resemblance to Wilson’s when he’s at his best. However, the great showing Willis put on at his pro day likely put him out of reach for Seattle with the No. 9 overall pick.

This offseason has demonstrated that you can’t rule out any scenario with 100% certainty, but going forward fans should expect the Seahawks not to take a QB this year.

Looking ahead, their depth chart at quarterback should be:

QB1: Geno Smith
QB2: Drew Lock
QB3: Jacob Eason

To put it kindly, Lock hasn’t developed into a reliable starter as of yet but it makes more sense to give him the opportunity if Smith either fails or gets injured rather than use draft capital on a rookie QB. Only Eason is under contract beyond next season, so unless one of them turns in a truly-impressive ’22 campaign odds are this team will be shooting to draft its next franchise quarterback in 2023.

Smith re-signing also makes it highly unlikely that the team will attempt to trade for another QB already in the league like the Browns’ Baker Mayfield or Gardner Minshew of the Eagles. Free agent wild cards like Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick are also now off the table.

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‘I feel disrespected’: Baker Mayfield sounds off on Cleveland Browns quarterback saga

Baker Mayfield shares that he feels disrespected by the Cleveland Browns in their pursuit of Deshaun Watson.

Former Oklahoma Sooners QB [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] has been the talk of the sports world this offseason, but not because of anything he did on the football field for his current team. After a season in which he dealt with a torn labrum in his shoulder, Mayfield came under fire for the Browns falling short of the playoffs, when in reality, he probably shouldn’t have played.

Throughout the 2021 season and shortly thereafter, there appeared to be mutual interest in coming to an agreement on a long-term contract. Then the Browns dipped their toe in the Deshaun Watson saga. After it appeared Watson had declined to go to Cleveland, the Browns stepped up their contract offer and made the splash to trade for the controversial quarterback from the Houston Texans.

When the rumors surfaced of the Browns’ interest in Watson, Mayfield penned what looked and sounded like a good-bye letter to the city of Cleveland, a place that hadn’t seen a playoff win in more than two decades and a fanbase that embraced Mayfield’s confident, bordering on cocky attitude.

With the trade finalized, fans and analysts alike began to wonder what would become of the former No. 1 overall pick. Several teams, like the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers, have popped up with rumored interest in the Sooners’ Heisman winning quarterback, but the Browns haven’t revealed concrete plans to trade their once-franchise quarterback.

With weeks to contemplate the move, Baker Mayfield finally broke his silence on the Cleveland Browns and their addition of Deshaun Watson when he appeared Michael Seander’s podcast Ya Never Know: know what I mean?

 

The interview has more content than you would think at first glance. Baker starts his story with how things ended at Texas Tech and how things began for him at Oklahoma.

Baker didn’t hold back in this interview. This is the clip that has gotten everyone’s attention:

Baker said that he feels disrespected by the Browns. “I feel disrespected, 100 percent,” said Baker. “I was told one thing and they completely did another.”

Baker went on to talk about the coaching situations he’s dealt with since being drafted.

“I’ve had four different head coaches in four years, a bunch of different coordinators,” said Baker. “(You) talk about the highs? They always come back.”

The Deshaun Watson situation still hasn’t reached its conclusion and the Browns currently don’t have an answer on if their new QB will be suspended or not to start the 2022 regular season. Mayfield is still on the Browns roster and may be asked to fill in for Watson should NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspend him.

Mayfield requested a trade back in March.

He underwent surgery back in January to repair his left labrum and was scheduled to begin “light throwing” this month. With the injury and his nearly $19 million cap hit for 2022, teams have been reluctant to trade for him to this point.

However, with the draft approaching, Baker could get dealt by the Browns during draft week, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Expect the Browns to send Baker out of the conference. The Seattle Seahawks seem to be the current favorites after trading Russell Wilson. Drew Lock, Jacob Eason, and Geno Smith are the only QBs on Seattle’s roster at the moment.

Baker Mayfield will be in Norman on April 23 for Oklahoma’s spring game, when his statue will be revealed in Heisman Park on the University of Oklahoma’s campus.

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Seahawks starting quarterback opening ‘a very competitive opportunity’

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is planning to make the team’s starting quarterback opening “a very competitive opportunity.”

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The Seattle Seahawks will have a very important position group to watch this summer at training camp. Now that Russell Wilson has been traded to the Denver Broncos, the Seahawks must decide who will be the starting quarterback heading into the 2022 NFL season.

Seattle did acquire quarterback Drew Lock in the Wilson trade and also has Jacob Eason on the roster, but coach Pete Carroll wants to see the battle for starter play out on the field.

“I’m going to look at this thing very much like we did years ago and structure it so everybody gets a great shot at it as best we can,” Carroll said this week from the league meetings in Florida. “That’s what competition is all about. I’ve got to give them the opportunity by presenting it.”

Of course, Carroll is referring to the three-way battle in the summer of 2012 between Wilson, Tarvaris Jackson and Matt Flynn. But for that to happen, the Seahawks will need to add another quarterback to the mix, either through free agency with a familiar face like Geno Smith or with a rookie selected in the NFL draft this April.

“If it all gets set up like it should happen, it’s going to be a very competitive opportunity,” Carroll said.

For now, all Seahawks fans can do is wait.

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Seahawks legend Jon Ryan volunteers his services at quarterback

Ryan is of course the greatest and most clutch performer in playoff history.

The Seahawks need a new quarterback after agreeing to trade Russell Wilson to the Broncos. At the moment their best options to start Week 1 of the 2022 season are Geno Smith and Drew Lock – a far from ideal situation.

One Seattle legend is volunteering his services. Here’s what former Seahawks punter Jon Ryan shared on Twitter last night.

Ryan is of course the greatest and most clutch performer in playoff-franchise history, having a perfect passer rating at 158.3 and the most epic touchdown of all time.

In the regular season, Ryan completed three of four passes, totaling 54 yards and a 116.7 passer rating.

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Seahawks: Projected 2022 quarterback depth chart after Russell Wilson trade

Let’s see what Seattle’s projected depth chart at QB should look like in the wake of the trade.

Russell Wilson is on his way to Denver. In the most stunning news in a very busy day for the NFL, Seattle has agreed to send its star quarterback to the Broncos for a bunch of draft picks and three players.

Noah Fant is a promising young tight end (he’s 24) who’s totaled 170 catches, 1,905 yards and 10 touchdowns in three seasons. Shelby Harris is a veteran defensive tackle (he’s 30) who’s underrated and solid both rushing the passer and stopping the run.

Those two are quality pieces that will help improve Seattle’s roster breadth as will the draft picks – at least in theory.

Our real objection to the trade is the third player coming over from the Broncos: 25-year-old QB Drew Lock. For lack of a kinder word, Lock just isn’t very good at what he does. His game is erratic and mistake-prone – he led the NFL with 15 interceptions in 2020 – and we’d be surprised if he winds up being a solid starter at this level based on what we have seen so far.

Let’s see what Seattle’s projected depth chart at QB should look like in the wake of the trade.

QB1: Geno Smith (6-foot-3, 220 pounds)

Apparently the Seahawks were truly unbothered by Smith’s recent arrest on suspciion of a DUI, or maybe they fell in love with his game during the 3.25 games he started in 2021 while Wilson was injured. Whatever the case, Smith should now be projected as the team’s No. 1 – assuming they actually re-sign him some time before next week.

QB2: Drew Lock (6-foot-4, 228 pounds)

Sometimes when we don’t have anything nice to say it’s best just to rely on the numbers, which are mean enough on their own. Lock is 8-13 as a starter, has a 59.3% completion rate, 25 touchdowns, 20 interceptions and a passer rating of 79.3. This past season, his QBR was 23.4.

QB3: Jacob Eason (6-foot-6, 231 pounds)

Lock could probably benefit from a bit more time in the oven to develop, but Eason may never even get to his current level. Eason has only started one game in his career for the Colts.

What comes next?

We should probably expect the Seahawks to use Denver’s first-round pick on a quarterback prospect with attributes that they like. Malik Willis from Liberty is our favorite from this draft class.

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Seahawks ranked 19th-neediest NFL team at quarterback by PFF

Pro Football Focus has ranked Seattle No. 19 in the league when it comes to QB neediness – right at the top of their “look to the future” category.

With only one notable exception, the common denominator for all of the contenders that made it to this past weekend’s insane divisional round extravaganza is that they all have a franchise quarterback who performs at a high level more often than not. The Chiefs’ overtime victory over the Bills was arguably the greatest game of all time – and at the very least the best QB duel we’ve ever witnessed in the playoffs. In any case, right now Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are setting the standard at this position and every other team is playing from behind.

While he’s not quite on the same level as Mahomes or Allen, the Seahawks have a capable quarterback of their own in Russell Wilson. However, Wilson will turn 34 years old during the middle of next season and the inconsistency he has displayed over the last two years is mildly concerning.

Pro Football Focus has ranked Seattle No. 19 in the league when it comes to QB neediness – right at the top of their “look to the future” category.

“The Russell Wilson era seems likely headed for some kind of ending in Seattle. If Wilson was upset last offseason, nothing that happened this year can have improved his disposition. He was under pressure as much as ever, the scheme was doing little to help and he suffered the first significant injury of his NFL career. Wilson has been an excellent quarterback for the team, but the Seahawks’ roster is now bad enough that even he can’t drag them to the playoffs every year. If he wants out, Seattle needs a new answer, because Geno Smith isn’t taking over.”

To be fair, Wilson’s finger injury clearly impacted his play the first few weeks after he returned to the lineup and he’s since admitted that he wasn’t close to feeling 100%. However, Wilson also struggled dramatically in the second half of the 2020 campaign when he was healthy.

It’s possible that these are just bumps in the road in an otherwise stellar career. The Seahawks have to at least consider the possibility that Wilson’s game has already peaked and they’ll only get declining returns from here on out.

Given Geno Smith’s situation – including an expiring contract and a recent arrest on suspicion of a DUI, this team is in need of at least one more QB heading into the offseason.

Unfortunately, the 2022 quarterback draft class is supposed to be really bad, so even getting a quality backup is no guarantee – to say nothing of finding a potential successor to Wilson.

Free agency may be the answer, here. The top names at the position about to hit the market include Jameis Winston, Cam Newton and Teddy Bridgewater.

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Seahawks: 6 players who should get more playing time down the stretch

Here are six players who haven’t gotten much playing time in 2021 who deserve more of a look down the stretch.

The Seattle Seahawks are not going to make the playoffs this year. While this is a prideful group that will continue competing over the last three games of the season, it’s time to start thinking about the future. Part of that means evaluating the young talent already on the roster.

Here are six players who haven’t gotten much playing time in 2021 who deserve more of a look down the stretch.

Seahawks elevate LB Tanner Muse from practice squad for Jaguars game

The Seahawks only made one roster move on Saturday ahead of tomorrow’s home-game against the Jaguars.

The Seahawks only made one roster move on Saturday ahead of tomorrow’s home-game against the Jaguars: linebacker Tanner Muse has been elevated from the practice squad to the active roster. Muse was a third-round pick last year but the Raiders released him just before the season started. He missed his entire rookie season due to a foot injury, so this could be his first game.

The bigger implications of this being the team’s only move today is at the quarterback position. Each of the last two weeks Jake Luton had been elevated from the practice squad, serving as Geno Smith’s backup at QB on gamedays.

However, with Luton not getting the bump this week that means Jacob Eason will be the No. 2 guy behind Smith in tomorrow’s game. He’s the only other QB on the active roster and Danny Etling was released from the practice squad a few weeks ago.

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