Getty The Seahawks quarterback competition has begun between Drew Lock and Geno Smith.
The Seattle Seahawks are preaching a quarterback competition, but Geno Smith has received the majority of the reps with the first-team offense to begin training camp. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has been candid about Smith being ahead of Drew Lock, both during the offseason workouts as well as in camp.
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm does not see Smith hanging on to the starting job for very long. Not only does Edholm call Drew Lock is a threat, but he predicts the Seahawks will have a last-minute change of heart about acquiring trading Jimmy Garoppolo from the San Francisco 49ers for . Given that the two teams are division rivals, Garoppolo makes more sense for the Seahawks if they wait until he is released. This is a realistic possibility if the Niners are unable to find a team willing to take on his $24.2 million salary.
“For now, Smith appears to have the early lead on Drew Lock, who came to Seattle in the Russell Wilson deal,” Edholm wrote on August 3, 2022. “Smith has received most of the first-team reps in camp to this point after starting three games in place of the injured Wilson last season and likely is the favorite to start Week 1 … against Wilson’s Broncos.
“But if the 49ers can’t find a trade partner for Jimmy Garoppolo and end up cutting him, that’s a player the Seahawks could entice to sign for moderate money, with Seattle’s QB spot hardly in a firm place. Another benefit: The Seahawks play at San Francisco in Week 2. But it’s getting late, and winning a starting job in a month (or less) would be heavy lifting for Garoppolo even if he lands here.”
ALL the latest Seahawks news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Seahawks newsletter here!
Seahawks Want to ‘Catch Lightning in a Bottle’ With Lock, Says NFL Executive
Smith’s holding the early QB1 lead does not carry a lot of weight because it is early in the process, especially given that the veteran had the advantage of already being familiar with the Seahawks offense. Both Smith and Lock are expected to have an opportunity to make their case during preseason action.
“One NFL executive with ties to the Seahawks told Heavy that Seattle is hoping to ‘catch lightning in a bottle’ with Drew Lock,” Heavy.com NFL insider Matt Lombardo wrote on July 29. “At this stage, barring Garoppolo being released, it seems as though the most likely outcome is Drew Lock behind center when Seattle opens the season against Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.”
Both Lock & Smith Have Underwhelmed to Begin Training Camp
Drew Lock, Geno Smith airing ‘em out on WR go routes 4th practice of Seahawks training camp. The first two went off the hands of Freddie Swain and DK Metcalf. @thenewstribune
The bad news for Seattle is all indications are that both Smith and Lock have struggled to start camp. This is especially frustrating given there were already low expectations about the quarterbacks on the Seahawks roster. The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar described both Lock and Smith as performing even worse than he had expected.
“Like, I had low expectations, but I think even the people with high expectations coming in here thinking that maybe Drew or Geno could lead ’em to like an eight- or nine-[win] season, if you’ve watched the first few days you’re like, ‘Wow,'” Dugar said during the August 3 episode of the “Seahawks Man 2 Man” podcast. “I’m just not seeing consistent sharpness, and that’s what I want to see. I don’t expect either one of these guys to be Russ [Wilson] or Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. They’re not. They’ll tell you they’re not, but the inconsistencies are just really, really, really apparent.”
Both quarterbacks still have plenty of time to impress the Seahawks coaching staff, but if things do not turn around, we can expect Seattle to continue to be linked to Garoppolo. San Francisco will need to make a decision on Garoppolo’s future before Week 1 in order to avoid being on the hook for his sizable salary.