Seahawks GM Schneider confirms, details QB Drew Lock returning

Seahawks general manager John Schneider was a few moments late for his weekly conversation with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Thursday afternoon. He was pretty up front about why as he sat down.

Seahawks Reaction: Too many concerns about Jalen Carter to draft?

“Drew Lock, man. Let’s go – coming back,” Schneider said, confirming a report just minutes earlier by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo that the Seahawks had agreed to terms with their backup quarterback from last season.

While Schneider couldn’t provide terms of the contract, when Bob Stelton relayed that Garafolo tweeted that Lock’s deal was for one-year on a $4 million base salary plus incentives that could raise it to as much as $7.5 million, Schneider responded, “fairly close.”

That means Seattle has its quarterback position settled for 2023 after agreeing to an extension with Pro Bowler Geno Smith the week prior.

Schneider is clearly happy to have Lock, who came to the Seahawks in the Russell Wilson trade a year ago, back on board for another season. Lock, 26, was a second-round pick by the Broncos in 2019 and appeared in 24 games over three seasons with Denver, including 21 starts. While starting didn’t work out with the Broncos, Lock was in a legitimate competition with Smith to become Seattle’s starter for 2022 until he tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the team’s second preseason game and lost ground in the position battle.

“What an awesome guy, you know?” Schneider said of Lock. “Everything he’s been through, last year we talked about it a bunch. Coming here, competing with Geno, getting COVID – really bad timing for him. … Game 2 (of the preseason) was gonna be his game against Chicago here and then he got really sick, and then he still didn’t have his legs against Dallas (in the last preseason game).”

Schneider added that he’s “really excited” to have Lock back and “really happy” for Lock, who both Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll have praised even though he didn’t see the field while Smith surged last season. The battle between Lock and Smith prior to last season was close, and Schneider made sure to point out how much Lock supported Smith throughout the year, just as Smith had done for Lock in training camp.

“Both those guys were awesome with pushing each other and then the support that they showed,” Schneider said. “Geno’s scrimmage and Drew’s scrimmage (in training camp), Drew had a little bit more success that day – I forget exactly how it happened – but Geno was amazing afterwards. He’s like, ‘Hey, look, you know, I’m here for Drew, and if he’s the guy, I’m here to support him.’ And obviously Drew treated Geno the same way and was great all throughout the season and competing. He knows how much we love him, he knows how important it was, and both their exit interviews (after the season) were great.”

In addition to confirming the agreement with Lock, Schneider confirmed that the Seahawks have a deal in place with free agent center/guard Evan Brown. He noted that Seattle sees him as more of a center, which is one of the bigger positions of need for the team. For more on Brown, click here.

The John Schneider Show with the Seahawks GM is airing at 4 p.m. each Thursday during Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob leading up to (and including) the first day of the NFL Draft on April 27. Click here for podcasts of the show.

Fann: Seahawks cutting Jamal Adams is an option, albeit unlikely

Follow @BrentStecker