Seahawks trade to get backup quarterback Sam Howell from Commanders

SEATTLE – Geno Smith remains the Seahawks’ quarterback of the present.

The Seahawks added a candidate to be the QB of the future on Thursday, and got a backup for today, pulling off a trade with the Washington Commanders to acquire third-year veteran Sam Howell.

As first reported by ESPN, the Seahawks will receive Howell and a fourth-round (102) and sixth-round (179) pick, while Washington will receive a third-round (78) and fifth-round (152) pick.

A league source confirmed the trade to the Seattle Times.

Washington, coached by former Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, signed Marcus Mariota on Wednesday and has the No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft, which it is expected to use on a QB.

Howell, 23, was a fifth-round pick of Washington in 2022 out of North Carolina.

He has a 5-13 record in 18 starts with Washington, all but one of which came last season. That included a 29-26 loss to the Seahawks at Lumen Field in which he went 29 of 44 for 312 yards and three touchdowns.

He has a salary cap hit of $1.075 million for 2024 and $1.190 million in 2025 in the last two seasons on his four-year rookie deal. Howell is due base salaries of $985,000 and $1.1 million the next two years.

That marks a significant drop from the $4 million the Seahawks paid Drew Lock to be Smith’s backup last year, and the $5 million that Lock was reported to be receiving from the New York Giants, with whom he signed this week.

Lock’s departure meant the Seahawks had to scour to find another QB to add depth, if nothing else, especially with the team’s offseason program beginning April 8. They could also take a QB in the NFL draft April 25-27.

While Howell adds depth he also could be seen as competition for Smith in camp, and a consideration for the job down the road.

The Seahawks restructured Smith’s contract last month to assure he will be the starter in 2024. He has a cap hit of $26.4 million, the largest on the team.

The structure of the contract means an increasing cap hit in 2025 at $38.5 million, meaning the Seahawks will have another decision on their hands following the 2024 season.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Howell started one game at the end of his rookie season in 2022, a 26-6 win over Dallas, after spending the season backing up veterans Carson Went and Taylor Heinicke.

He beat out veteran backup Jacoby Brissett for the starting job in 2023.

He had a respectable 14-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio during Washington’s 4-5 start, and 17 to 9 after playing the Seahawks on Nov. 12.

He threw just four touchdowns against 12 interceptions in the final seven games, all of which Washington lost, held to 20 points or fewer in six of those games and 15 or fewer four times.

His 21 interceptions for the season led the NFL, as did his 612 attempts. He also led the NFL in taking sacks, with 65.

Those are stats the Seahawks will obviously say need to get better. But given what they gave up – and especially Howell’s low cap hits and salary – president of football operations John Schneider surely feels Howell is a still-ascending player who could thrive with more experience and in a better overall offense, and can benefit from the tutelage of Smith. He has the kind of mobility the Seahawks have always liked, rushing for 263 yards on 48 carries and five touchdowns last season.

Once Washington signed Mariota to serve as a veteran mentor to whoever it takes with the second overall pick, if not a possible initial starter in 2024, Howell’s fate seemed sealed.

The trade means the Seahawks have dealt second- and third-round picks in the 2024 drafts in the trades for Leonard Williams and Howell. Because of a trade with Denver during the draft a year ago, they still have a third-round pick. Their updated picks after the Howell trade are: 16, 82, 102, 118, 179, 192 and 235.

The Seahawks are expected to consider drafting a quarterback with one of those picks, if not with No. 16. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb attended Oregon’s pro day this week, at which Bo Nix was a feature attraction, and also had visits at the NFL scouting combine with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Tulane’s Michael Pratt and were also reported to have had one with LSU’s Jayden Daniels.

If Howell may be perceived as competition to Smith – though logically Smith will be the starter going into camp and expected to retain the job – his initial reaction was only to welcome the trade. Smith responded “Baller!” accompanied by two fire emojis over a report of the trade on the social media platform X shortly after it was announced.

Seahawks sign top-graded linebacker Dodson

Only a few minutes after Seahawks president of football operations John Schneider said “obviously we feel like we have a need” they took a step to fill it, reaching agreement with free agent Tyrel Dodson, according to Bleacher Report.

Dodson, 25, spent the last four years in Buffalo and started 10 games for the Bills last season making 74 tackles, eight for a loss after taking over at weakside linebacker for the injured Matt Milano.

He finished with the No. 1 grade of all linebackers from Pro Football Focus., which wrote in its recent scouting report: “Dodson carries some risk as a linebacker with only 1,066 career snaps, and one who was not a starter for the Bills until Matt Milano got injured in Week 5 of the 2023 season. However, what he did with the opportunity and how he played once he became a starter makes him one of the more intriguing free agents this year. Dodson ended up as PFF’s highest-graded linebacker in 2023 (90.2). He was the only linebacker in the NFL to earn a grade above 83.0 for his work in run defense and coverage.’’

Terms of the deal were not immediately available.