Brock: Why Seahawks didn’t keep a rookie QB

May 9, 2024, 12:30 PM | Updated: 12:36 pm

Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks during a 2023 game. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Seattle Sports

In the months leading up to the NFL Draft, whether or not the Seattle Seahawks would select a quarterback of the future was highly debated.

Ex-scout hopes Seattle Seahawks open up QB competition

Seattle didn’t end up taking a signal-caller with any of its eight picks, but it brought San Jose State’s Caden Cordeiro, Gannon’s Kory Curtis and Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa – the younger brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa – in for its rookie minicamp last week. However, none of the QBs made the cut.

Cordeiro, who was one of 16 undrafted free agents and the only QB signed by the Seahawks, was released Wednesday, and camp invitees Tagovailoa and Curtis weren’t offered contracts. In fact, Curtis didn’t appear to take a snap during team drills on Day 2 of camp Saturday.

Why didn’t the Seahawks try to hold on to any of the trio? Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard gave his thoughts on the decision Thursday during Blue 88 on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“None of them could throw it,” Huard said. “If you’re going to play in this system, you’re going to have to (be a passer).”

The system Huard is referring to is that of first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who spent the past two seasons leading one of the nation’s most prolific passing offenses with the UW Huskies. UW excelled with the ultra-accurate Michael Penix Jr. leading the offense, and none of the QB participants at Seahawks rookie camp displayed accuracy as a noticeable strength.

“Cordeiro is a great athlete and Tagovaiola runs around and is creative and makes plays,” Huard said, “but they’re not refined, accurate passers.”

Seattle remains with two quarterbacks on the roster in returning starter Geno Smith and offseason trade acquisition Sam Howell, who started for the Washington Commanders last season. Huard pointed out that there’s still opportunities for the Hawks to bring in more competition at quarterback.

“I think they looked at these three and just said, ‘yeah, we can do better than this. There’s going to be guys that are going to get released here. There’s gonna be other rookies that are trying out around the country, and we’ve got to find somebody who’s first and foremost trait is not their athleticism,'” Huard said. “… (The most important things are) their accuracy, their anticipation, them as a passer, and these guys just did not pass the test.”

Listen to the full Blue 88 segment at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.