Sam Howell Sends Message on Seahawks QB Battle With Geno Smith

Getty New Seahawks QB Sam Howell is looking forward to competing with Geno Smith.

New Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell is well aware of the situation he’s walking into.

Howell – who started all 17 games for the Washington Commanders last season – was acquired for a fourth-round draft pick in the offseason. While Howell certainly has starting experience, he’ll begin his first season in Seattle as the backup to Geno Smith, who has served as the starter over the past two seasons.

As the Seahawks continue to go through OTAs, the 23-year-old quarterback wants to make it clear that he’s ready to “compete” regardless of the situation.

Via Cameron Van Til of Seattle Sports:

“In this league, to be able to play, you’ve gotta compete,” Howell said on Thursday, May 30. “And that’s what I’m willing to do. No matter what the situation is, no matter who the starter is, I’m coming to compete every single day. And Geno has been great. I’ve learned a lot from Geno and he’s a great player. I have a lot of respect for him and everything he’s been through in his career, just the way he’s always battled and bounced back.”

Seahawks GM Raves About Sam Howell’s Toughness

Although the Seahawks have made it clear that Smith will enter the season as the starter, it’s also obvious that the franchise has high hopes for its new young quarterback. It wasn’t too long ago that Howell nearly led the Commanders to victory over the Seahawks during a 29-26 Week 10 loss. Howell posted 312 yards and three touchdowns in the defeat.

President of football operations/general manager John Schneider raved about Howell’s toughness back in March at the NFL Annual Meeting.

“He’s a football player, tough, square,” Schneider said. “I think you guys will find him to be kind of quiet, but our game (against Washington), he was super tough, super strong. He’s got a really cool upside… I love the way he plays the game.”

Sam Howell Admits Turnovers & Sacks Were a Problem in Washington

The former fifth-round draft pick had a decent season in his first year as starter, showing the ability to be prolific. Howell threw for 3,946 yards and posted 26 total touchdowns. However, he struggled drastically when it comes to turnovers and sacks, posting the most interceptions (21) and sacks (65) of any quarterback last season.

Howell admits the turnovers and sacks are something that was a problem last season; he’ll look to improve upon that moving forward.

“At times when we were down big in some games, I was a little too aggressive just trying to make something happen, trying to get us back in the game,” Howell said. “The turnovers were just way too high. … So that’s definitely something that I can take from last year – just playing better football, playing smarter football.”

While Howell won’t enter the season as the starting quarterback as he did last season with the Commanders, all it takes is for Smith to slip up for Howell to receive his chance. It’s worth noting that the Seahawks are playing under a new head coach, Mike Macdonald. Smith’s former coach, Pete Carroll, is no longer involved on the sidelines.