Seahawks QB Drew Lock says leaving preseason game ‘precautionary thing’

SEATTLE – Cleaning out the notebook following Seattle’s 22-14 win over Dallas in its second preseason game Saturday night at Lumen Field.

Here are some day-after thoughts:

Drew Lock would have played more, thinks knee is OK

The Seahawks hoped to get backup quarterback Drew Lock more work than the two possessions and 13 snaps he played.

But Lock came up limping following a low hit from Dallas’ Sam Williams midway through his second possession. Williams was flagged for roughing the passer on the play. Lock, after getting up slowly, stayed in the game. But after that series, which ended in a 1-yard touchdown run by SaRodorick Thompson, Lock did not return. Rookie Holton Ahlers played the rest of the game.

Coach Pete Carroll said afterward Lock suffered “a little bit of a strain in the back of his knee, hyperextended a little bit” but said there was “no damage” and that he thinks Lock will play next week.

Carroll confirmed that the plan had been for Lock to play more.

“I was going to hopefully see Drew play a ton tonight with (starter) Geno (Smith) getting a little bit of work,” Carroll said. “Drew was preparing to play. He knew he was going to play a lot of football.”

Lock said later he thinks his knee will be fine and that he’ll be able to play Saturday in the preseason finale at Green Bay.

“It’s good,” he said. “It will be all right. I think it was definitely just a precautionary thing. I still haven’t seen the clip. Don’t really know what happened. I know immediately when you get hit on your front leg, as a quarterback, after you throw, it’s locked out. Kind of scared me for a second. I don’t know what happened. ‘All right, next play. We’ll figure it out on the sidelines.’ Yeah, kind of a precautionary deal. Just going to listen to what the team tells me, get ready, get better for next week.”

Lock completed 5 of 6 passes for 119 yards, including a 48-yarder to rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba that was the play of the night for the Seattle offense as well as a 32-yarder to Cody Thompson (on the play before he was injured), and led the Seahawks to touchdowns on each of his drives — the only two TDs Seattle scored on the night.

Lock worked his first series with Seattle’s first-team offensive line and the next series behind the second-team line.

Through two games, Lock has completed 22 of 30 passes for 310 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for a passer rating of 114.6, while leading Seattle to scores on five of the 10 drives he has led and reaffirming the faith the team had in him when it asked for him to be included in the Russell Wilson trade and then re-signed him this offseason to a one-year deal that could pay as much as $4 million.

“I think he’s a starter,” Carroll said. “That’s what we’re so excited about having him. We thought that when we got him. It just didn’t work out. Geno [Smith] was just too much in command. But I think he’s playing like a starter. We think of him as a guy that can go out there and win a football game for us, running our whole entire offense. There’s nothing we do that he can’t do, doesn’t have a command of. That’s a fortunate situation. I hope he comes out of this, this yank he got on his knee here, and can play this next week. We will have done everything we can to prepare him when the opportunity comes.”

Seattle excited about young edge players

The two best defensive players of the game for Seattle may have been two second-year edge rushers — Boye Mafe and Tyreke Smith.

Mafe was a regular in the rotation a year ago and has been working with the starters the last few weeks with Darrell Taylor sidelined with a shoulder injury.

A second-round pick last year, Mafe has so far looked like he’s not out of place with the starters, appearing to take the second-year leap that coaches hope for, if not anticipate.

Mafe batted down two passes against Dallas, had a quarterback hit and two tackles, compelling Pro Football Focus to write that Mafe made life “extremely difficult on Dallas’ ‘starters’ Saturday night, as he was constantly generating pressures in addition to getting his hands in passing lanes.”

Mafe had tackles on back-to-back plays in the second quarter on Dallas running plays that gained just 2 and 3 yards, indicative of a Seattle defense that has played well against the run in two preseason games, holding opponents to 3.4 yards per carry. Of course, Seattle has yet to face a starting offensive line or quarterback. Dallas played none of its listed starting offensive linemen.

But that’s a stark difference from a year ago when the Seahawks allowed 4.9 yards per carry.

“It’s a really good early statement because it’s been a huge emphasis for us,” Carroll said. “We’ll see if we can do it again next week, keep growing with that.”

Smith has been more of a revelation. A fifth-round pick in 2022, he missed all of last season with a hip injury. But he’s been healthy this year and typically working with the second team defense. He had seven tackles against the Cowboys and helped end the game in rousing fashion by chasing down Dallas’ third-team QB Will Grier for a 20-yard sack on a fourth-and-3 play with 1:37 left.

“He did well [Saturday],” Carroll said. “Now, it’s taken him some time in camp. But he had a really impressive week. You could see it coming.”

Carroll said Taylor should be back soon, at which point he likely rejoins the starting defense at one edge spot alongside Uchenna Nwosu on the other side.

But the progression of Mafe and emergence of Smith as well as 2023 second-rounder Derick Hall — who had two QB hits against Dallas — could give the Seahawks enviable depth at the edge rusher position.

Tre Brown states his case

Seattle again started Michael Jackson and Tre Brown as its outside corners, with Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon still sidelined (Woolen has returned to practice but did not play while Witherspoon has been out since a week ago Monday with a hamstring injury). Seattle could still begin the season with a duo of Woolen and Witherspoon as its outside corners, with Witherspoon also able to move inside in the nickel. But if Seattle goes other routes, Brown appears to be closing the gap on Jackson.

While Jackson struggled, allowing three receptions on four targets for 58 yards, according to Pro Football Focus — one on a fade route to Jalen Tolbert for 35 yards — Brown had a steadier night, allowing three receptions on four targets for 15 yards and making five tackles without a miss (he’d missed one last week on a fourth-down play). He also came up with an interception in the early fourth quarter.

Brown played 56 snaps, third most of any defensive player. But Carroll said the main reason for that was a lack of depth at cornerback due to injuries.

Carroll couldn’t say Brown had won a starting job, but he did say that “he did a nice job, though. Cool open-field tackle that he made. The one he missed last week, makes this week. Beautiful improvement.”

As for Jackson, Carroll said: “He’ll hit it better than he did [Saturday]. But I thought he continues to play well. He’s an experienced veteran guy for us that we can really count on. It’s just kind of like the outside backer spot. We got guys that can play, we like the opportunity to be flexible there if we want to.”