The play of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has now garnered the attention of NBA stars. Atlanta Hawks star Dejounte Murray, a Seattle native, wants to see Drew Lock get a chance at quarterback. Murray’s viral tweet, in all caps no less, to the Seattle made Seahawks news and is approaching 400,000 views.
“@Seahawks Put DREW LOCK In The Game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Murray tweeted on November 5, 2023 during Seattle’s blowout 37-3 loss to Baltimore in Week 9.
Murray was a standout player at Seattle’s Rainier Beach High School. The former All-Star went on to play collegiately at Washington before being a first-round selection by the Spurs in the 2016 NBA draft.
Seahawks News: Drew Lock ‘Would Love to Get This Chance to Play,’ Says Pete Carroll
Lots of talk among fans about whether the Seahawks would make a change at quarterback. Pete was pretty confident in Geno and I don’t see a change coming but I was surprised he answered this question about what it would take to make a switch midseason:
Murray is not alone in wishing for a change at quarterback. Heading into Week 10, Smith has had eight turnovers in four games. This has prompted Lock to trend on Twitter with Seahawks fans joining Murray’s push for a quarterback change.
Head coach Pete Carroll addressed the Seahawks news of fans pondering a possible quarterback change, noting the move would need to be “obvious.” Carroll continues to back Smith but admits that Lock “would love to get this chance to play.”
“It should be an obvious situation that a guy’s not doing his part, and you have to declare where the issues are,” Carroll said during the November 6 interview with Seattle Sports “Brock and Salk.” “Is it with the guys up front not being consistent? Are we not doing our route stuff right? Are we not calling the game for him?
“… Geno shows us every day that he’s got what he needs to play good football,” Carroll added. “But that doesn’t say that Drew [Lock] isn’t either. Drew is working his tail off, and he would love to get this chance to play and help his club. But Geno’s doing fine.
“We just need to help around him. Obviously, when we don’t protect any better than we did yesterday and we can’t run the ball, it’s going to be hard. And it’s [the conversation] going to go somewhere and you guys are going to turn right to Geno. That’s classic and that’s just how it goes.”
Seahawks Rumors: Will Drew Lock Get a Chance as Seattle’s Starting Quarterback?
Early view from the press box as Drew Lock gets a little work in. It’s dry at the moment.
It will be interesting to see if Lock does get a chance to showcase his skills before once again hitting free agency in 2024. Seattle signed Smith to a three-year, $75 million contract over the offseason but has regressed from his Pro Bowl campaign in 2022. The Seahawks have an out in Smith’s contract that would allow them to move on (with a $17 million financial penalty) from the quarterback in 2024.
Through the team’s first nine games, Smith already has 7 interceptions, a number that is sure to frustrate Carroll. Despite being an interesting part of the blockbuster deal for Russell Wilson, Lock has not started for Seattle.
Lock has only played in one game during his two seasons with the Seahawks. Smith can silence Murray and other doubters by bouncing back as Seattle faces lesser opponents in the coming weeks.
NBA Rumors: The League Is Targeting Seattle as One of Its Next Expansion Cities
Seattle may no longer have the Sonics, but the region still is a prolific base of talent for NBA players. Additional Seattle natives who join Murray in the NBA include Paolo Banchero, Zach LaVine and Jaden McDaniels among several others. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons continues to report that Seattle and Las Vegas will be NBA expansion cities in the coming years.
“I have some intel, I think the league is going to expand to Vegas and to Seattle,” the analyst noted on the February 28, 2022 edition of “The Bill Simmons Podcast”. “And I think the leading contender to get that Vegas team is gonna be the Fenway Sports Group. They have Liverpool, they’ve bought the Penguins. They’ve been circling different NBA teams for a while. I think they looked at Minnesota, and I think they’re the leading contender to Vegas.”
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Hawks Star Calls Out Seahawks Over Geno Smith-Drew Lock