Seahawk coach Pete Carroll is trying hard to convince everyone (perhaps specifically the Browns) that he doesn’t want a veteran quarterback. Along the way, Carroll is pushing the guys he has.
Late last week, Carroll declared that Drew Lock would have been the first quarterback drafted in 2022. On Sunday, Carroll reiterated that, for now, Lock would be second string to Geno Smith.
“They are really focused to show well,” Carroll told reporters when asked about his veteran quarterbacks. “These guys understand what’s at stake, and the [competition] of it all. And so they were really tuned in. They’re giving everything they’ve got, everything they were doing, from the communication part of it, they’re studying extra, they’re getting in early they’re trying to make sure that they put them themselves in the best position. It’s really obvious. Geno has come back. Like we said, he has so much command of what we’re doing, that he just automatically is ahead. He’s trying to ride that and build on that. I’m proud of the way he’s taking to it.”
Smith played well last year after Russell Wilson suffered a finger injury. Smith helped the Seahawks nearly take down the Rams, a game during which the crowd in Seattle was chanting his name. Then came three-point losses to the Steelers and Saints, followed by a blowout of the Jaguars. Smith completed 20 of 24 passes in that win, and Wilson (coincidentally or not) was back the next week.
So maybe it will be Smith or Lock. Maybe Carroll believes it. Maybe it’s not about selling to the Browns the idea that the Seahawks will give up nothing for Mayfield.