Seahawks QB Sam Howell on Lumen Field: 'Loudest Thing Ever!'
Sam Howell didn't know it at the time, but his trip to Lumen Field on Nov. 12 would be his first taste of his new home.
That day, Howell led his Washington Commanders to the Pacific Northwest for an NFC showdown against the Seattle Seahawks. He did everything he could to guide the Commanders to a win as he completed 29 of 44 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns, but despite his best efforts, it wasn't enough.
Seattle earned a 29-26 victory thanks to a last-second Jason Myers field goal, kick-starting Washington's eight-game losing streak to end the season.
A few months later, Howell now finds himself on the other side of that contest after a trade from Washington earlier this week. Now that he's had a taste of the passion Seahawks fans display on a weekly basis, the newest member of the team is eager to play in front of that raucous crowd once again.
"Man, it's the loudest thing I've ever heard," Howell said, per Seahawks.com. "It was a close game in the fourth quarter, we were down one touchdown and had the ball in the fourth quarter, and we couldn't hear anything. We had to burn two timeouts just so I could get a play from the sideline.
"You definitely don't want to be the visiting team, so I'm happy to be on the home sideline now. It's definitely the toughest place to play in the league, and I'm just happy I'm on the right side of it now."
Howell is still one of the youngest quarterbacks in the league at just 23 years old, younger than several prospects in the upcoming draft.
After being thrust into the starting job last season, the former North Carolina star completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 3,946 yards with 21 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. Before overreacting to those stats, it's important to note that Howell threw a league-high 612 passes in 2023 and had little help around him.
Now, the Seahawks have a solid insurance plan for Geno Smith and one with strong upside. As Howell starts this new chapter of his NFL career, he's ready to endure himself to the Seattle faithful.
"Once I figured out that me being traded was a possibility, this was one of the teams that I kind of had circled and was hoping for. I'm just very happy to be here, very thankful to John (Schneider) and to Mike (Macdonald) for giving me this opportunity. I'm just ready to go to work."
