The Seattle Seahawks were well represented in the 2022 USFL draft ahead of the football league’s reboot this spring. Former Seahawks backup quarterback Alex McGough was selected by the Birmingham Stallions with the No. 6 pick in the first round and had the honor of NFL legend Bo Jackson announcing the pick.
Welcome to Birmingham, Alex McGough 🏈
See the moment Bo Jackson announced McGough is joining the home team
Another former Seahawks quarterback Paxton Lynch was drafted by the Michigan Panthers in the 12th round of the startup draft. Lynch will compete with former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson to be the team’s QB1.
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McGough Had 2 Stints With the Seahawks
Can’t wait to see Alex McGough in action for the Stallions 🐎 #GiddyUp
McGough was drafted by the Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft and spent the season on the team’s practice squad. The quarterback had a solid career at Florida International University posting 2,798 yards, 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions while adding 231 rushing yards along with five TDs on the ground.
McGough had a second stint with the Seahawks as he signed a practice squad deal with the team in December 2020. The quarterback later inked a Futures contract with Seattle in the offseason but was released during the preseason on August 23, 2021. McGough caught the eye of Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll during the team’s minicamp in 2018.
“Probably the surprise of the day I thought was Alex,” Carroll noted during a May 4, 2018 press conference. “Alex did a very good job today. He showed really good arm strength. We know that he’s very mobile. We’ve seen a lot of mobility out of him, he got chased a lot last year on film.
“So, we know that he can move around and make things happen, but he had really good arm strength and he threw the ball very accurately today for his first time out. Get him under center was a little change for him, but he had a impressive first day. So, we’re pleased to see that.”
Lynch Was Selected by the Michigan Panthers in the USFL Draft
Neither McGough or Lynch were able to beat out Geno Smith to be the Seahawks backup behind franchise quarterback Russell Wilson. Coming out of Memphis, Lynch was a more highly-touted prospect than McGough, which allowed the quarterback to be selected by the Broncos with the No. 26 pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. Lynch’s career in the NFL failed to take off as he notched just four starts in Denver.
The Seahawks signed Lynch to a Reserve contract in January 2019, but the team released the quarterback during the preseason as they finalized their 53-man roster. After a 2019 preseason outing against his former team, Carroll was complimentary of Lynch.
“I thought Paxton Lynch did a really good job,” Carroll said at the time, per Seahawks.com. “Paxton handled himself well, good tempo with the game. And he ran the ball really well; he’s a big unit running now. You saw him down by the goal line, that’s a fantastic run for a quarterback to score down there. But just in general he got out and made some yardage with his legs.”
McGough and the Birmingham Stallions kickoff the start of the USFL season against the New Jersey Generals on April 16 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on both NBC and Fox.
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Multiple Ex-Seahawks QBs Drafted by USFL, Including First-Round Pick