What is Seahawks’ future at QB? Carroll, Schneider address options

The Seahawks have officially traded franchise quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos for three players and five draft picks. So … what’s next at quarterback for Seattle?

What the Seahawks and Russell Wilson said about his trade to Broncos

Well, one of the players the Seahawks acquired from Denver is 2019 second-round pick Drew Lock. There’s also the draft, free agency and the trade market to add players to the mix.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider spoke to the media on Wednesday for the first time since trading Wilson and, as you might imagine, Wilson’s successor was a hot topic.

Here’s what that duo had to say about Seattle’s future at quarterback.

Drew Lock

Before taking questions, Carroll spoke heavily about second chances in the NFL. That applies to Lock, who played well as a rookie but has been less successful the last two years.

Hello Seattle!🙌 pic.twitter.com/Fq1wZBXfPj

— Drew Lock (@DrewLock23) March 16, 2022

Carroll and Schneider each said they loved Lock as a prospect out of Missouri a few years ago.

“Our guys were thrilled about (potentially drafting him),” Carroll said. “We didn’t. He goes into his first year and finally plays his first five games and he goes 4-1 in his first season, his rookie season. All the promise, all that you’d hoped to see, the numbers and stuff showed he’s going to have a great run in his career. And then the next two years didn’t work out too well. He battled his tail off, competed his tail off and it just hasn’t worked out. Is this a second chance for Drew Lock? Heck yeah it is. It’s an absolute clear second chance for him to take us back to what we knew him to be.”

“Drew Lock, we really liked him coming out (of college),” Schneider said. “Can move in the pocket, has a hose. We’re really excited to get him into our culture and into our building.”

So is Lock the guy? Or will the Seahawks bring in someone else?

“We’ll continue to explore options, but we have a ton of faith in Drew,” Schneider said. “We’re excited about him, excited about a change of scenery for him. A couple of my buddies were trying to acquire him last spring into the fall so he’s a guy in my opinion the media has beat down a little bit. We’re excited to get him into our culture to work with our coaching staff and we’ll continue to look for guys to compete with him.”

Carroll was asked whether the Seahawks can win a championship in 2022 with Lock as the starting quarterback.

“If he plays like he did early on, I think we have a shot,” Carroll said. ” … His third down numbers were terrific, (he took) care of the football really well. For whatever reason – the coordinator left after that time and times changed for him – he just didn’t play to that same level. So exactly what we evaluated … he showed … We still think he’s that guy.”

Geno Smith/competition

Carroll said that like with Wilson or during his USC days with quarterbacks like Carson Palmer, the offense needs a point guard to take care of the football. He thinks Geno Smith, who was Wilson’s backup the last three years and started three games in 2021, could be that guy.

“Right now, Geno knows our offense the best. If he comes back to us, he has an opportunity to run the whole thing,” Carroll said. “We saw him do it during the season. We’ve got to bring Drew along and see how far he can take it. The competition is on … and we’re going to give Jacob Eason a shot as well and see how he fits into it.”

Carroll said this offseason is “no different” than when Wilson, a third-round rookie, beat out free-agent signing Matt Flynn in 2012 for the starting job.

Colin Kaepernick

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick hasn’t played a snap since 2016 but has regularly posted workout videos and voiced his desire to play in the NFL again. Could the 34 year old be an option for the Seahawks? Carroll brought him up during his opening statement at the press conference.

“You’re going to ask questions about Colin Kaepernick … He contacted me the other day and said ‘Hey, I’d like to get a shot. I’m working out.’ He sent me some videos and the next thing I know he’s working out with (Seahawks receiver) Tyler Lockett … Does that guy deserve a second shot? I think he does, somewhere. I don’t know if it’s here or somewhere else, I don’t know if it’s in football.”

Is Kaepernick a realistic option for the Seahawks?

“I don’t know, but he’s making a remarkable bid for it to sustain his conditioning over the four years that he’s been out,” Carroll said. “… Who knows? I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Deshaun Watson

Wilson is a multi-time Pro Bowl quarterback who changed teams. That likely will happen with another quarterback this offseason, as well.

Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson is the center of NFL trade talks after a grand jury declared he would not be tried criminally for accusations of sexual assault towards multiple massage therapists. Watson, 26, still faces nearly two dozen civil suits, but he’s expected to be traded after sitting out all of 2021.

According to reports, the Seahawks reached out about Watson but he decided he didn’t want to be traded to Seattle. He, like Wilson, has a full no-trade clause.

Heaps: Seahawks reached out to Deshaun Watson, who wasn’t interested

Did the Seahawks in fact call the Texans about Watson?

“The way to answer that is he’s under contract right now and he has a no-trade clause, as well,” Schneider said.

2022 QB draft class

Thanks to trading Wilson, the Seahawks now have the No. 9 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft and three picks overall inside the top 41. Because of that, the Seahawks are a team to watch in terms of potentially drafting a quarterback.

Many draft analysts think this is a down year for quarterback prospects. Does Schneider agree?

“I think it’s a talented group,” he said.

Schneider said one thing the Seahawks haven’t regularly done, unlike during his time in Green Bay’s front office, is draft quarterbacks for one reason or another. Even though the Packers had a legend in Brett Favre, they drafted guys behind him who provided value as “assets,” Schneider said.

As far as this class, he reiterated that he thinks it’s a “good class.”

“People aren’t highly rating it or whatever, but you never know where you’re going to acquire these guys all the way through,” he said, referencing Wilson being a third-round pick and Tom Brady lasting until the sixth round. “… You have to look at the totality of the class.”

Stacy Rost: The complicated Seahawks legacy of Russell Wilson

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