No Bad Blood Between Geno Smith and Drew Lock in Seahawks' Quarterback Competition
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Barring an outside addition over the next few months, the new starting quarterback for the Seahawks will be either Geno Smith or Drew Lock. Jacob Eason is also on the roster, but is squarely behind the other two and has an outside shot at best to get anything more than third-string reps.
With minicamp now wrapped up, the competition remains in the early stages and will likely last through the majority, if not all, of training camp. While there could be friction between them in such a tense battle, even though both Smith and Lock are directly competing against each other for opportunities with the first-team offense, there isn’t animosity between them.
“Drew is cool as heck, I love Drew to death,” Smith told the media after the second mandatory minicamp practice on Wednesday. “Just getting the chance to meet him and getting a chance to know him, he has a lot of swag, he’s a young guy, can throw it, has all of the ability in the world, he’s very smart, and he’s just one of the guys.
Per coach Pete Carroll, Smith still holds a slight edge coming out of minicamp after he played in Russell Wilson’s stead across four games last season. He didn’t light the world on fire, but the veteran managed a 5-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio and was playing his best football during his last start against the woeful Jaguars. He's also highly respected by many players in the locker room, including his main rival for the quarterback position in Lock.
But while Smith has an inherent advantage with familiarity of the offensive playbook, Lock provides arguably more potential with his underrated athleticism and cannon arm. The former 2019 second-round draft pick from Missouri showed flashes of his talent as a rookie, returning from a thumb injury on his throwing hand in preseason to lead the Broncos to a 4-1 record over the final five games of 2019.
Unfortunately, a change to a new offensive coordinator, COVID-related issues without an offseason program, and a supposed rift between Lock and Broncos head coach Vic Fangio contributed to Lock’s decline in 2020 and 2021. Despite that, his tantalizing skill set was enough for the Seahawks to want him in return as part of the Wilson trade in March and insert him squarely in this quarterback competition against Smith.
Of course, there is more to this competition than strictly on-field performance. Lock was asked about managing the competition off the field as well and he expects both to handle the competition with professionalism and respect.
“Well, for one, I feel like me and Geno [Smith] are both very mature adults. We both understand that we're both trying to be the starter for this team,” Lock answered. “We're not stepping on each other's shoes. We're not getting mad at one another."
Smith is no stranger to quarterback competitions. As a rookie second-round draft pick in 2013, he beat out Mark Sanchez to be the signal caller for the Jets. After two seasons as the primary starting quarterback for the franchise, in part due to a broken jaw suffered in a training camp fight, he lost the starting job to Ryan Fitzpatrick and never regained the job.
Lock finished behind Teddy Bridgewater in his own quarterback battle last season for the Broncos. One thing Lock learned with that competition fresh in his mind is to focus more on what he’s doing as an individual to get better as opposed to comparing himself to the other quarterbacks, which can be detrimental from a mental standpoint.
“Comparison is a thief of joy is what Barry Odom told me one day when I was in college and that's stuck with me to this point,” Lock explained.
It remains to be seen if the fruits of this friendly competition will also provide joy for 12s during the 2022 regular season, but if current indications hold true, no bad blood will crop up between Smith and Lock regardless of the outcome for the Seahawks. Whoever comes out on top in August will be supported by the other as a backup and both players have backing from teammates.
