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The Seattle Seahawks may be without Russell Wilson for the foreseeable future, but the team has no plans to sign free-agent quarterback Cam Newton. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the Seahawks do not plan to make a major roster move to add a former starting quarterback like Newton or pull off a trade for Nick Foles. Instead, the Seahawks are expressing full confidence in Geno Smith as team’s QB1 in Wilson’s absence.
“The early world out of Seattle is that they’re going to go with Geno Smith,” Fowler detailed. “They’re not going to look to the street free agent route like a Cam Newton or trade for a Nick Foles. They believe they can win with this guy. I’m told that they’re going to have to kind of limit the explosive plays. It’s not like Russell Wilson where he can just rail off three touchdowns in two minutes, it’s a little different.
“But a source I talked to over there said, hey maybe this is a little bit of a Frank Reich situation with the Buffalo Bills in the early 90s when he came in for [starting quarterback] Jim Kelly, won three in a row. Maybe he can spark them a little bit.
“I don’t even know if they expected that [performance against the Rams] from Geno Smith. They knew he’s a good, solid backup and he’s got a second-round pedigree. He started for the Jets, but he came in there hot. He drove ’em 98 yards in that first drive. They at least have some optimism loosely that they can go in there and just kind of hold the fort down until Russ comes back later in the year.
Here is a look at Fowler discussing the Seahawks’ quarterback plan in Wilson’s absence.
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Carroll on Smith: ‘I Totally Trust That Geno Can Do This’
Smith received rave reviews from the Seahawks coaching staff after his performance against the Rams. The veteran quarterback threw for 131 yards, one touchdown and an interception while completing 58.8% of his passes as he kept the Seahawks in the game. Carroll emphasized that he, “totally trust that Geno can do this.”
“I thought [Geno] did a marvelous job last night,” Carroll explained during an October 8 press conference. “Geno’s been practicing with us for all this time, waiting for his opportunity [to be] called upon and the patience that he’s shown with us and to stay with it and his relationship with Russ and the coaches. He’s been impeccable and then when he went out, he executed like he can and he’s a very talented football player. He’s got a great arm. He’s got great sense and he knows the system really well.
“I totally trust that Geno can do this, and I think you saw it last night in a really difficult situation, you know, hurry up all that kind of stuff. He was really good at it. He really understands the system, so we’ll be able to stay with the preparation and that’ll help everybody. Geno makes guys around him feel confident and feel comfortable and I thought that was a great showing.”
The Seahawks Also Have Jake Luton on the Practice Squad
The Seahawks may be unlikely to make a major move at quarterback, but it will be interesting to see if they add another player to compete to be the team’s temporary backup. Seattle has Jake Luton on the practice squad who is now just one unfortunate play away from seeing the field. The Seahawks briefly released Luton but re-signed the quarterback to the team’s practice squad after he cleared waivers.
“It’s a dream come true,” Luton noted in September, per Seahawks.com. “Really excited to be here. I’ve got three little brothers who are so excited. They’re fired up to have me here, and I’m really excited. I’m excited for the opportunity, the chance to come in and learn from some great coaches and some great players. It’s been a great situation.”
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