Tag: Sam Howell

Watch: Sam Howell 2023 highlights

Watch: Sam Howell 2023 highlights

The Seattle Seahawks were in the market for a second quarterback to pair with Geno Smith. For the last two years, Drew Lock was the backup, but he signed with the New York Giants in free agency. This led many to believe the Seahawks would draft a quarterback, particularly Michael Penix Jr. who played at Washington and under current Seattle offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

Instead, as he often does, John Schneider zigged when everyone thought he would zag. The Seahawks traded for another Washington quarterback, albeit the Washington on the east coast. Quarterback Sam Howell, after two years with the Commanders, was headed to the Pacific Northwest.

At age 24 and with the aforementioned two years experience in the NFL, Howell certainly comes with tantalizing potential. Last year was a mixed bag if I’ve ever seen one from a quarterback. Howell had 21 touchdowns against 21 interceptions on one of the worst teams in football. The Commanders cratered to 4-13 and allowed the most points by any team last season.

Still, Howell was not without his highlight reel. It is evident there is something Schneider sees. Whether this materializes in Seattle or elsewhere, it’s obvious that Howell was worth a second look.

You can see Sam Howell’s 2023 highlights here.

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Dyami Brown working hard ahead of fourth NFL season.

When the Washington Commanders selected North Carolina wide receiver Dyami Brown in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft, it was widely viewed as a steal. Washington badly needed another wide receiver to step up opposite of star Terry McLaurin, and Brown was coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at UNC.

Unfortunately, Brown struggled as a rookie. While he appeared in 15 games and was credited with six starts, Brown caught only 12 passes for 165 yards and did not score a touchdown. His biggest impact came on special teams.

In 2022, the Commanders chose wide receiver Jahan Dotson in the first round. Not because they didn’t believe in Brown but because there were so many question marks at the position beyond McLaurin. Brown again appeared in 15 games, this time catching five passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. The unique part of Brown’s season is two receptions, 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns came in one game against Tennessee.

Brown had two more receptions for 32 yards that season.

Last season, Brown played in all 17 games, catching 12 passes for 168 yards and one touchdown with his old college quarterback, Sam Howell, under center.

Now, Brown enters the final year of his rookie contract and he is not guaranteed to even make Washington’s 53-man roster. While the Commanders lost Curtis Samuel in the offseason, they re-signed Jamison Crowder, signed a pair of veterans, Damiere Byrd and Olamide Zaccheaus, and drafted Luke McCaffrey in the third round of the NFL draft.

Brown will face a lot of competition for at least three wide receiver spots on the 53-man roster.

So, while players are away from the team before reporting to training camp in around three weeks, Brown is putting in some serious work, as he shared on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8vkbL7t8nr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Brown is still only 24 and has a ton of potential. He has a third offensive coordinator in his fourth NFL season. He also has a new quarterback, Jayden Daniels, who throws an excellent deep ball — Brown’s strength.

Don’t count out Dyami Brown just yet. A new coaching staff could be exactly the reset Brown needed heading into the final year of his rookie deal.

Fantasy football preview: Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks

Geno Smith gets some competition, but will it even matter in fantasy football?

The Seattle Seahawks were expected to make a big splash were they parted with Russell Wilson in 2022. Instead, then-head coach Pete Carroll said he had the replacement in-house – veteran journeyman Geno Smith.

Smith was a pleasant surprise in 2022, throwing for almost 4,300 yards and 30 touchdowns. He took a backward step in 2023, dropping to 20 touchdown passes in 15 games. With Carroll gone, the loyalty to Smith isn’t as strong and the Seahawks showed that by swinging a trade with the Washington Commanders to acquire Sam Howell, who started every game last year.

For now, it is Smith’s starting job to lose, but the front office has made it clear that there is a succession plan in place.

Seahawks 90-man roster by jersey number going into summer break

Tomorrow mandatory minicamp is set to begin, so let’s take a look at the full roster heading in.

The Seahawks are reportedly signing former NC State running back Ricky Person Jr., which brings the offseason roster to 91 including offensive tackle Max Pircher, who has an international roster exception. The move is as yet unofficial so we don’t have a jersey number for Person as of yet, but we now know that former Browns quarterback P.J. Walker will be wearing No. 15.

Here’s the updated roster by jersey number going into summer break.

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Geno Smith is ‘well ahead’ of Sam Howell in new Seahawks offense

Brady Henderson says Geno Smith is “well ahead” of backup Sam Howell in Grubb’s new scheme.

The Seahawks made a massive change to their coaching staff this offseason, letting Pete Carroll and all but one of his assistants go. In his place Mike Macdonald has assembled a highly-regarded staff, with a mix of long-time NFL coaches and others pulled from the college ranks. The biggest name in the bunch is offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who just spent two years leading the Huskies to become one of the nation’s top passing units.

Of course things will be different in Seattle than they were at UW. Grubb may have the same offensive line coach but the unit itself is one of the worst in the league, at least on paper. Grubb will still have three excellent wide receivers and an aggressive quarterback leading the charge, though.

As mandatory minicamp kicks off later today at the VMAC, Grubb’s offense has been named the most interesting storyline to watch by NFL.com. ESPN is sounding a similar note going into camp. Brady Henderson says Geno Smith is “well ahead” of backup Sam Howell in Grubb’s new scheme.

“There is no contract drama hanging over the Seahawks’ offseason, nor is there a quarterback competition, but there is plenty of intrigue. Smith and Howell are learning new coordinator Ryan Grubb’s scheme, which he estimated in early June to be almost 50% installed. The three OTAs that were open to reporters were heavy on 11-on-11 work, which made it clear that Smith, who has already been declared the starter and took all the No. 1 reps, is well ahead of Howell. Mandatory minicamp will offer a better look at each quarterback’s progress since receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett should both be there after being in and out during OTAs…”

While they’re both learning a new scheme, Smith has far more experience at his level as well as two and a half seasons of familiarity with Seattle’s skill players. That means it’s going to be pretty tough for Howell to pass him on the depth chart this year, and we may not see him start a game in 2024 unless Smith gets injured.

After this coming season all bets are off, though. Both Smith and Howell will be entering the last year of their respective contracts, and the Seahawks can save a ton of cap money by cutting Smith. If they’re truly enamored with Howell as much as has been reported, we may see Howell taking over QB1 duties in 2025.

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ESPN: Seahawks have liked QB Sam Howell ‘for an awful long time’

ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter was a guest on the Wyman and Bob show a few days ago on Seattle Sports radio.

ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter was a guest on the Wyman and Bob show a few days ago on Seattle Sports radio. Schefter shared some thoughts about where the Seahawks are heading this year, saying he sees them as a playoff contender. He also commented on the quarterback situation, where he thinks the franchise believes in Geno Smith, who has an advantage over Sam Howell when it comes to familiarity with the skill players.

Smith remains firmly at the top of the team’s depth chart at quarterback going into the 2024 season However, Schefter also says the front office has had their eye on Howell for some time:

“But I also think that Sam Howell is somebody that they’ve liked for an awful long time. And Sam Howell is a guy who, when you talk to people around the league, they believe in his abilities and talent and I think the Seahawks did as well. And I remember his name coming up within that organization last season during the year as a guy that they were intrigued with. And I think that they continue to be intrigued by the guy.”

This is a pretty familiar refrain we have heard about other quarterbacks who have gone on to become superstars. Years later, we learned the Seahawks were big fans of both Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, who are now the top two starters in the league. It’s easy to claim that in hindsight, though.

Clearly they do like Howell, though – otherwise they likely would have drafted a quarterback in the loaded 2024 class. The only way to find out if Howell has a higher ceiling than we saw last season with the Commanders is to give him serious playing time.

Looking ahead, there’s a possibility Seattle will want to give Howell a chance to lead their offense under Ryan Grubb. If that doesn’t end up happening in 2024, the team could save a ton of cap room by cutting Geno Smith ($25 million) next offseason.

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Seahawks GM John Schneider on process to trade for Sam Howell

Seahawks GM John Schneider on process to trade for Sam Howell

Despite having two-time a Pro Bowler in Geno Smith, who had led the Seattle Seahawks to back to back nine-win seasons, we knew the team was going to have to acquire another quarterback. Backup Drew Lock, who went 1-1 in his two starts last season, left for the New York Giants. Many believed the team was going to eye a quarterback in the draft, especially since the Seahawks had signed former Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

Instead, Seattle shocked folks by trading for Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell to backup Smith. When the Seahawks did this, it immediately signaled the team was no longer in the running to trade up from No. 16 to grab one of the top prospects. Either they weren’t in love with any of them, or they felt they did not have enough bullets in the chamber to make the shot.

As it turns out, it was likely the latter. General manager John Schneider was recently interviewed on NFL Network regarding the decision, and elaborated initially how they were facing a unique situation where all top six prospects could be gone before the team selected. His full comments can be seen below.

The 2024 NFL draft was certainly historic. For the first time ever, the first 14-consecutive picks were all offensive players… including all six top quarterbacks, just like Schneider discussed. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, as the run on offensive players allowed the best defensive tackle in the draft in Byron Murphy II to fall to them.

Interestingly enough, Sam Howell is younger than both Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr., who were drafted this spring. Younger, and with two more years NFL experience.

Howell is a lottery ticket, essentially. He wasn’t spectacular in Washington last year, but there was a reason why the Commanders were the No. 2 pick in the draft this year. Howell showed plenty of potential, and the Seahawks were in competition for his services.

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Ryan Grubb says new Seahawks offense is nearly 50% installed

Ryan Grubb says new Seahawks offense is nearly 50% installed

The Seattle Seahawks are ramping up under their new coaching staff, which includes offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Grubb, who was formerly with the University of Washington (and Alabama, for like a week), moves from the Montlake to Renton to help another Seattle-based football team.

Fortunately for the 12th Man, Grubb seems confident that the team is “right on schedule” when it comes to installing his new offense. An offense, mind you, which was the best in the country for the last two years and made it to the National Championship. Grubb recently spoke with the media about where the Seahawks offense was at:

“I would say we are closing in on 50% of our installation… I think early on we tried to do a good job on both sides of the ball of getting some of the critical exchanges and all the things we need to know and understand about the nuances and broad vision of the offense. Once you feel good about that, continue to build on that and move on—I think the guys have done a really good job, especially in the last week and a half, of getting that where we could feel good about building on top of some of those things.”

Both of Grubb’s top two quarterbacks, Geno Smith and Sam Howell, have praised his offense. Smith and Howell have described the system as “quarterback friendly,” as well as being favorable to Smith’s drop back style of play.

Now Grubb has another quarterback in the mix with P.J. Walker, who was recently signed to the Seahawks.

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Analysis: P.J. Walker gives Seahawks another aggressive QB with upside

Analysis: P.J. Walker gives Seahawks another aggressive QB with upside

The Seattle Seahawks made another interesting move at quarterback yesterday when they signed former Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers backup P.J. Walker. With Walker now in the mix, Seattle’s quarterback room is entirely made of players who were never drafted by the Seahawks and have all played for other NFL teams.

Clearly, this move is to fill out the open QB3 position. Seattle’s coaching staff has already made it clear Geno Smith is going to be the starter, as he should be this year. He is the most refined at the position and his veteran starting experience gives him a clear edge over his two younger colleagues.

Now we turn our eyes to Sam Howell, the presumptive backup quarterback. The Seahawks traded for Howell, essentially giving a third round pick to acquire him, instead of drafting a quarterback. It seems Seattle has a vested interest in the young man, and it feels unlikely they brought in Walker to be legitimate competition. Perhaps Walker is merely insurance for both Howell and Smith should injuries return once more.

Walker was originally signed by the Indianapolis Colts in 2017, but spent three years as mainly a practice squad player. Walker re-started his NFL career by an impressive showing in the COVID-shortened XLF season in 2020, where he threw 15 touchdowns against only four interceptions.

After that, Walker played three years in Carolina, and one season in Cleveland as mostly a fill-in role for both teams. Walker ultimately accumulated a 5-4 record as a starter, but only has six touchdown passes against 16 interceptions. Obviously, this is not a legitimate starting quarterback level talent for the NFL.

Still, he is more than qualified to be an emergency reserve quarterback behind both Geno Smith and Sam Howell.

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Seahawks signing former Panthers, Browns quarterback P.J. Walker

The Seahawks are signing former Panthers and Browns quarterback P.J. Walker, according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.

The Seahawks are signing former Panthers and Browns quarterback P.J. Walker, according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.

Walker (5-foot-11, 215 pounds) played his college ball at Temple, where he posted over 10,000 passing yards, 74 touchdowns, 44 interceptions and a 129.1 rating over four years. In the NFL Walker has been primarily a backup quarterback, spending three years in Carolina and then last season in Cleveland. All together he’s gone 5-4 as a starter with 2,135 passing yards, six touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

Walker’s best work was in the pandemic-shortened 2020 XFL season, though. While it was only a handful of games, Walker was as dynamic and dominant at that level as Patrick Mahomes at this one and likely would have won the league MVP award if the season had completed.

There’s a massive gap between the talent in the XFL and the NFL, though. In Seattle Walker will be a firm No. 3 option at quarterback behind Geno Smith and Sam Howell for now. He’ll have to show some improvement beyond his usual talented arm and legs to make the initial 53-man roster – especially when it comes to turnovers.

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