Getty Pete Carroll's Seahawks say they are happy with new quarterback Drew Lock.
Danny Etling is beginning yet another stint with the Seattle Seahawks as team signed the quarterback to their practice squad, per the NFL transaction wire. The move comes one day after the Seahawks hosted former Jaguars starting quarterback Blake Bortles for a tryout. Seattle is looking for depth behind Geno Smith as Russell Wilson recovers from a finger injury.
Etling’s signing indicates the Seahawks will not be adding Bortles as the team continues to explore different options with Wilson sidelined. The quarterback begins his third stint with the Seahawks dating back to the team claiming Etling after he was waived by the Falcons in August 2020.
Seattle released Etling just weeks later and re-signed him to a Future’s contract in January. The Seahawks once again released Etling in training camp, and the quarterback was claimed by the Vikings. Minnesota released Etling in August just three weeks after adding the quarterback. Etling was selected by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft.
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The Seahawks Hosted Bortles for a Workout But Are Not Expected to Sign the Former Jags QB
ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported the Seahawks are not expected to sign Bortles despite the workout. The Seahawks protected Jake Luton on the practice squad indicating that he will be elevated and serve as the backup quarterback in Week 6.
“The Seahawks worked out Blake Bortles this morning,” Henderson tweeted on October 12. “They’re not expected to sign him at this time, I’m told. They’ll need to make some move at QB whether it’s elevating Jake Luton to back up Geno Smith.”
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll sees a lot of potential in Luton, but admitted the quarterback does not have a lot of experience. Luton has been getting increased reps in practice as insurance behind Smith.
“Well Jakey’s been in the system, this is his deal, he’s been working to get ready for this opportunity,” Carroll explained during his October 13 press conference. “He has not had a lot of work. He’s had to do it kind of on the back burner, but I’ve gone back and looked at his games and all the snaps that he’s had and all the throws that
he’s made just to double check.
“We’ve done that before to see where he is and he’s capable of making a lot of plays, and so we got to keep it really clean for him and make sure that we don’t burden him if he gets a chance to play and give him an opportunity to do what he does. He’s got a real good arm, real strong hose and good release and he’s got good accuracy to him and all that, and so it’ll be a little bit of an experience as we start it up because he hasn’t had a lot of turns. But he’s obviously getting more in practice right now.”
Etling Served as an Emergency QB Option for the Seahawks in 2020
Last season, Etling was added as a fallback option in case COVID-19 impacted the quarterback room. Etling did not meet with the other quarterbacks as a precaution in case he was needed if the team’s top signal callers were all sidelined.
“We have been in the conversation of this for a long time and we actually kicked into a new gear just by the — I hate to say we had to wait to see something bad happen — but we have stepped forward in terms of taking care of Danny,” Carroll detailed in December 2020, per Pro Football Talk. “So to make sure that he is apart from the other QB’s so if we had, heaven forbid, some kind of a circumstance, he would not be considered connected to those guys.
“So in essence he is separated from the QB’s for now. And he has done a fantastic job to this point where we trust that he can go to all the meetings, all the, virtually, stay with us, he’ll work out and all that kind of stuff, apart from those guys and we’ll keep him available. So that is our guy. ”