Sam Howell is Geno's Backup!!

[Dallashawksfan]

Didn't give up much for a QB with a good arm, a year of experience, and younger than some of the other QBs in the draft.

Exactly gave up almost nothing

Likely he is nothing but you never know and they save some money

 

[pittpnthrs]

I realize he had a lot of turnovers but he also had some quality starts and he made a lot of great throws as well. Things fell apart at the end of the year and he had some melt down games. But the talent is there.
Writing him off is silly but whatever. Do what you want.

I'm not writing him off. I'm just saying he isn't going to threaten Geno for the starting position.

 

[Jac]

I'm not writing him off. I'm just saying he isn't going to threaten Geno for the starting position.

The coaching staff doesn’t have any loyalty toward Smith, nor does Smith know the offense. Bieniemy was hired in February 2023 so Howell performed pretty well in his first year in a new offense as a second-year player. Howell could definitely play his way into a starting role and/or Smith out of one. We’ll see how it goes this summer.

 

[Bear-Hawk]

Jason McCourty made an interesting observation on this. He said teams prefer to have a backup with a skill set and style of play similar to your starter to have continuity in the offense, if the backup comes in. This suggests that Commanders plan to draft Daniels.

 

[TwistedHusky]

What Geno did was an outlier. It happens.
SD traded away Drew, who became a star. You don't get star or usually even top third QBs traded to you. It happens occasionally. But it rarely happens.

The more reasonable expectation is this is our backup. What that says about our plans in supposedly QB rich draft is telling though.
There is a still a chance we get a QBOTF in the draft, but it feels like it got much much lower.
Which is disappointing, because you have to keep drafting QBs if you are going to be a regular playoff team in the future. You have to find your QB. You aren't going to be there consistently if you don't have a top third QB.

 

[WarHawks]

If all he is is a cheap backup, then whatever. I was just hoping this might finally be the year they make a big move to get a qbotf, and with our dearth of picks ( which admittedly is not all JS's fault), it seems likely we're just kicking the can down the road [again] toward a weaker draft class next year. I'm just not sure what the long term end game is here.

 

[RiverDog]

I'm not writing him off. I'm just saying he isn't going to threaten Geno for the starting position.

I wouldn't be so sure. Macdonald didn't exactly give Geno a ringing endorsement when he was asked his opinion.

Per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic, Macdonald kept his options open when asked about his vision regarding the starter under center during his upcoming first season with the team.

"The first thing that I want you to know, and everybody to know, is that as an organization we're always looking, we're always trying to figure out what's best for the team all the time," Macdonald said. "We're always going to try to make the best decisions for the team."

With Macdonald and general manager John Schneider replacing former head coach Pete Carroll on the sidelines as well as in the front office, the new regime may want to move forward with their own quarterback. The Seahawks created $4.8 million in cap space by restructuring Smith's deal on Feb. 22, via ESPN's Field Yates.

While this doesn't necessarily mean that the 33-year-old should be expecting a change of scenery during the offseason, he may have some fierce competition in training camp. It appears that the ability to adapt to the playbook from Ryan Grubb, who was hired as Seattle's new offensive coordinator on Feb. 13, will factor into the team's decision.

At this point, it's probably Geno's job to lose. But I wouldn't go so far as to say that Howell won't be a threat to him.

 

[Rat]

Jason McCourty made an interesting observation on this. He said teams prefer to have a backup with a skill set and style of play similar to your starter to have continuity in the offense, if the backup comes in. This suggests that Commanders plan to draft Daniels.

Mariota is nothing like Daniels. If anything, he's closer to Maye.

 

[Jac]

What Geno did was an outlier. It happens.
SD traded away Drew, who became a star. You don't get star or usually even top third QBs traded to you. It happens occasionally. But it rarely happens.

The more reasonable expectation is this is our backup. What that says about our plans in supposedly QB rich draft is telling though.
There is a still a chance we get a QBOTF in the draft, but it feels like it got much much lower.
Which is disappointing, because you have to keep drafting QBs if you are going to be a regular playoff team in the future. You have to find your QB. You aren't going to be there consistently if you don't have a top third QB.

Things could be escalating though with Minnesota getting the extra first. They may be positioning to go up for McCarthy (or Penix?) It could be a wild scramble at the top of the draft this year on QB’s.

 

[Bear-Hawk]

Mariota is nothing like Daniels. If anything, he's closer to Maye.

Huh? Go ask McCourty about that. Daniels scrambles around a lot more than Maye, and Mariota scrambles around a lot more than Howell.

 

[Natethegreat]

Things could be escalating though with Minnesota getting the extra first. They may be positioning to go up for McCarthy (or Penix?) It could be a wild scramble at the top of the draft this year on QB’s.

Which is why JS made this move I think.

 

[Maelstrom787]

The coaching staff doesn’t have any loyalty toward Smith, nor does Smith know the offense. Bieniemy was hired in February 2023 so Howell performed pretty well in his first year in a new offense as a second-year player. Howell could definitely play his way into a starting role and/or Smith out of one. We’ll see how it goes this summer.

I mean, Schneider did already straight up say that Sam Howell is the backup, unlike 2022 where Drew was being brought in to actually compete.

It could happen, but I don't think they're eager to rush a young guy who self-destructed in 2023 back into action over a Geno Smith who has been competent at worst and quite good at best since 2022.

 

[Natethegreat]

I mean, Schneider did already straight up say that Sam Howell is the backup, unlike 2022 where Drew was being brought in to actually compete.

For this year it's most likely that Geno starts though I don't think it's 100% no doubt about it.
Next year I'm betting it may be a different story.

 

[Maelstrom787]

For this year it's most likely that Geno starts though I don't think it's 100% no doubt about it.
Next year I'm betting it may be a different story.

Sam would have to go on a Russell Wilson Rookie Preseason tear to get the job. I'd give it like a 2% chance.

I think that John thinks Sam needs time to recover from Washington and rework some of his habits from the ground up. I'd agree. He'd have to go absolutely out of his mind to steal Geno's job. Like, immediate top-10 QB level insanity.

 

[Hawkinaz]

The coaching staff doesn’t have any loyalty toward Smith, nor does Smith know the offense. Bieniemy was hired in February 2023 so Howell performed pretty well in his first year in a new offense as a second-year player. Howell could definitely play his way into a starting role and/or Smith out of one. We’ll see how it goes this summer.

If Howell isn’t the starter when the season starts I do expect he will be by midseason.

 

[DarkVictory23]

I wouldn't be so sure. Macdonald didn't exactly give Geno a ringing endorsement when he was asked his opinion.

Per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic, Macdonald kept his options open when asked about his vision regarding the starter under center during his upcoming first season with the team.

"The first thing that I want you to know, and everybody to know, is that as an organization we're always looking, we're always trying to figure out what's best for the team all the time," Macdonald said. "We're always going to try to make the best decisions for the team."

With Macdonald and general manager John Schneider replacing former head coach Pete Carroll on the sidelines as well as in the front office, the new regime may want to move forward with their own quarterback. The Seahawks created $4.8 million in cap space by restructuring Smith's deal on Feb. 22, via ESPN's Field Yates.

While this doesn't necessarily mean that the 33-year-old should be expecting a change of scenery during the offseason, he may have some fierce competition in training camp. It appears that the ability to adapt to the playbook from Ryan Grubb, who was hired as Seattle's new offensive coordinator on Feb. 13, will factor into the team's decision.

At this point, it's probably Geno's job to lose. But I wouldn't go so far as to say that Howell won't be a threat to him.

This statement was prior to the trade for Howell, so it's hard to know how much stock to put into it.

As I said earlier, people were making mountains out of the fact that Macdonald said Drew's name first when talking about our quarterback room in an interview... and now Drew is a Giant. Vague coach speak is just vague coach speak. The Seahawks have made very few tangible moves to suggest Geno isn't going to start at this point.

---

Overall, I'd say the two most likely possibilities here are:

1) Geno is the starter, Howell is our QB 'in the draft' and we'll see what we have with a guy who is just as young as multiple guys in the draft. There is, in fact, a chance he is our QBOTF.

2) Geno is still the starter, but Schneider wants to hedge that he still might be able to get a QB he wants in the draft. He's got Howell as a backup but he's also here as a possible trade piece if a QB he likes does fall in his lap. Howell's upside--or lack thereof--isn't super important because he's our backup plan.


Any scenario where Geno isn't the starter seems to be a long shot and/or wishful thinking.

If Howell isn’t the starter when the season starts I do expect he will be by midseason.

Based on... what, exactly?

 

[Maelstrom787]

If Howell isn’t the starter when the season starts I do expect he will be by midseason.

I really, really hope we don't rush the dude back in. For his own sake. He needs to sit and learn.

 

[RiverDog]

This statement was prior to the trade for Howell, so it's hard to know how much stock to put into it.

As I said earlier, people were making mountains out of the fact that Macdonald said Drew's name first when talking about our quarterback room in an interview... and now Drew is a Giant. Vague coach speak is just vague coach speak. The Seahawks have made very few tangible moves to suggest Geno isn't going to start at this point.

This statement was prior to the trade for Howell, so it's hard to know how much stock to put into it.

As I said earlier, people were making mountains out of the fact that Macdonald said Drew's name first when talking about our quarterback room in an interview... and now Drew is a Giant. Vague coach speak is just vague coach speak. The Seahawks have made very few tangible moves to suggest Geno isn't going to start at this point.

---

Overall, I'd say the two most likely possibilities here are:

1) Geno is the starter, Howell is our QB 'in the draft' and we'll see what we have with a guy who is just as young as multiple guys in the draft. There is, in fact, a chance he is our QBOTF.

2) Geno is still the starter, but Schneider wants to hedge that he still might be able to get a QB he wants in the draft. He's got Howell as a backup but he's also here as a possible trade piece if a QB he likes does fall in his lap. Howell's upside--or lack thereof--isn't super important because he's our backup plan.


Any scenario where Geno isn't the starter seems to be a long shot and/or wishful thinking.



Based on... what, exactly?

My point is that it is not a slam dunk that Geno is our man. As I said, the job is likely his to lose, but I do think that, depending on how Howell looks in camp and in preseason, that Geno could be on a short leash.

New head coaches frequently like to put their stamp on the team early, and that sometimes means their own quarterback vs. a holdover from the previous regime. Is Howell 'their man'? I dunno. I guess we'll have to wait to find out.

 

[Hawkinaz]

I really, really hope we don't rush the dude back in. For his own sake. He needs to sit and learn.

I don’t think it so much he needs to learn but in Seattle he will be in a much better situation. The first half of the season Howell played well than the Commanders traded Young and Sweat which led to their defense being bad, Howell tried to put the team on his back which led him to making mistakes The OC wasn’t doing him any favors with his play calling. He did sit most of his rookie year starting the last game of the year having a decent game, passing for 169 yards 1 TD/ 1 pick

 

[knownone]

Sam Howell was one of the worst starting QBs in the league last year. I wouldn't hold my breath on him beating out Geno for the starting job.

It's still a good trade, though. He is a confident kid who could develop, and maybe, at some point, he'll be ready to start.