Should Seahawks be OK going into 2022 with Smith or Lock at QB?
Jun 15, 2022, 2:53 PM | Updated: 4:07 pm
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
It’s likely that one or both of Baker Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo will be playing quarterback for new teams in 2022. Will either land with the Seahawks?
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ESPN’s Louis Riddick thinks so, and he especially thinks that the Seahawks should add Garoppolo to the mix.
The Seahawks have 2019-2021 backup Geno Smith on the roster, as well as 2019 second-round pick Drew Lock, who came to Seattle from Denver this offseason. But Riddick isn’t buying that either will be the Week 1 starter for the Seahawks, nor does he think either should be.
“I broke into the NFL and scouting with (Seahawks general manager) John Schneider in Washington in 2001, so I’ve known him a long time. I have not talked to him about this. I respect the hell out of (head coach Pete Carroll) and I’ve talked to Pete numerous times, too, and (safety) Jamal Adams is a good friend of mine. I haven’t talked to anybody,” Riddick told Seattle Sports 710 AM’s Mike Salk Show Tuesday morning, “so this is me kind of looking at this going, ‘When we sit here and we try and figure out what’s going to happen with these quarterbacks, why wouldn’t you do that? Why wouldn’t you kick the tires on that kind of thing?’ I know people say, ‘Well, Pete says he’s fine with Drew Lock. He said he’s fine with Geno.’ Come on, no, you’re not.”
“That’s some pretty strong words from Louis Riddick,” former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps said during Tuesday’s Jake and Stacy. “And to be honest with you, I 100% agree with him.”
Heaps said Carroll and Schneider can publicly back the prospect of Smith and Lock being starters for the Seahawks, but “they know that this is not an ideal situation at all.”
“And if they have to roll with Geno Smith and Drew Lock, they’re going to make the best of it, and they’re going to try to do everything that they can to help those guys succeed and play at their best,” he said. “However, it would be really nice to be able to upgrade the position with somebody like Baker Mayfield or Jimmy Garoppolo. Guys who have been there, done that, who have been able to get to playoff games, who have been able to be franchise starters.”
Heaps thinks that adding one of those two is definitely worth it considering Smith and Lock have “a ton of questions marks about them.”
“Drew Lock, can he be a successful quarterback in this league? And Geno Smith, is he anything more than just a really solid backup quarterback in this league?” Heaps said.
Heaps thinks that the Seahawks, who preach an “always compete” mentality, can’t look at the current state of their quarterback room and be OK with what’s there.
“There always is an opportunity to upgrade and improve, and if you get that opportunity through Baker Mayfield or Jimmy Garoppolo, I have to imagine that they’re going to take it,” he said. “The difference being that they’re not going to be desperate to do it be a trade. They don’t want to give up capital, they don’t want to give up future opportunities to improve their team. But if those guys are cut, then you have an opportunity to sign them at a price point that is much friendlier to the team than their current cap hit and that’s where I think the Seahawks would show off their ‘always compete’ mentality.”
Listen to the full second hour of Tuesday’s Jake and Stacy at this link or in the player below.
Jake Heaps’ last day with Seattle Sports 710 AM is Thursday, June 15. Listen to Jake & Stacy Thursday both for Jake’s final day, as well as an announcement for Stacy Rost’s next co-host, which will be announced at 1:30 p.m.
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