Latest On Seahawks’ QB Situation
Seattle made headlines in early March when they agreed to trade Russell Wilson to the Broncos in exchange for multiple draft picks, quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and tight end Noah Fant. After losing their starter of the last ten years, the Seahawks are going through the motions now of determining who will be taking snaps from under center when the season starts this fall. 
Through Phase II of their offseason program, returning Seahawk Geno Smith has been taking the first snaps in drills, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. Breer still expects Lock to emerge as the starter, in time, once he’s had the opportunity to make up ground as a newcomer to Seattle’s system.
The 31-year-old Smith returned to starting duties this past season for the first time since 2017 and for the first time in multiple games in a season since his sophomore year with the Jets all the way back in 2014. Smith signed with Seattle in 2019, spending two years as Wilson’s backup while only making an appearance in one game. Last season, though, saw Smith relieve Wilson when the latter suffered a finger injury in a Week 5 loss to the Rams.
Smith finished the game for Wilson and, when Wilson was put on injured reserve, Smith started the next three games for the Seahawks. Smith performed admirably in Wilson’s stead, completing 68.4% of his passes for 702 yards while tossing 5 touchdowns to 1 interception. He also added 42 yards and a touchdown on the ground in 9 carries. Even though the team went 1-2 with Smith as a starter, he kept the Seahawks competitive, not only proving that he still has some gas in the tank but showing some of the best football of his career to date.
Lock was a second-round pick for the Broncos back in 2019, a backup option to then-newly acquired starting quarterback Joe Flacco. Lock suffered a preseason thumb injury that landed him on injured reserve, returning to practice in mid-November. Flacco suffered a neck injury that would require surgery and after three games of Brandon Allen, Denver turned to their rookie coming off injured reserve.
Lock took the NFL-world by storm, winning four of the Broncos last five games of the season. In that stretch Lock completed 64.1% of his passes for 1,020 yards, throwing 7 touchdowns to 3 interceptions. Lock took on full-time starting duties in his sophomore season. His completion percentage dropped to 57.34% on the year and his interceptions caught up to his touchdowns as his touchdown-interception ratio read 16-15. In his 13 starts, the Bronco went just 4-9. Last season saw Lock lose the quarterback competition to Teddy Bridgewater. Lock appeared in injury relief in two games before a concussion to Bridgewater in Week 14 handed Lock the keys to the offense for the rest of the season. The Broncos would lose all three of Lock’s starts, in which he would show more of the same from his full season as a starter.
Breer sees Lock emerging as the starting quarterback because of reports from 2019 that general manager John Schneider “really liked Lock coming out” of college, adding that the inclusion of Lock in the trade deal was similar to Jared Goff‘s inclusion in the Matthew Stafford-trade Detroit made last year. Breer also points out that Lock’s offensive coordinator during the best stretch of his young career during that rookie season was Rich Scangarello, who ran a very similar offense to Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
Behind Smith and Lock is the young Jacob Eason who failed to impress in very limited action with the Colts last year. The job will fall on the shoulders of either Smith or Lock, with Seahawks-fans likely hoping that Lock, the younger of the two, will establish himself as their future at the position.
Seahawks Signing WR Marquise Goodwin
The Seahawks are bringing in some veteran competition to camp with the signing of wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Goodwin will be looking to use camp to solidify a spot on his fourth NFL team. 
Goodwin is a deep-threat wide receiver that was drafted out of Texas in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Bills. His best year in Buffalo saw him catch 29 passes for 431 yards and three touchdowns.
That performance convinced the 49ers to give him a chance and Goodwin gave them the best season of his career, catching 56 balls for 962 yards and two touchdowns. He was only able to play in 11 games the following year, but was still able to put up a career high four touchdown catches. He played in nine games to start the 2019 season, before being placed on injured reserve.
The 49ers traded Goodwin to Philadelphia in the next offseason for a swap of sixth round picks. Goodwin took the option available to all players that year: opting out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stipulations in the trade agreement reverted Goodwin back to San Francisco and the Eagles received a seventh-round draft pick as a result of the failed deal. The 49ers released him the next day. Last season, Goodwin signed with the Bears, getting limited looks in 14 games of action.
Seattle returns their top three wide receivers in D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Freddie Swain, but, behind them, their fourth-most productive receiver was rookie D’Wayne Eskridge who had 10 receptions for 64 yards in 2021.
The deal should be a nice win-win opportunity for both sides: Goodwin getting another chance to contribute and Seattle getting a bit of bench depth for their wide receiver corps.
NFC Rumors: Jenkins, Eagles, Seahawks, Rams
Offensive lineman Teven Jenkins was taken in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft last year by the Chicago Bears, but only got a small portion of his rookie season to earn a spot on the line. Well, according to Adam Jahns of The Athletic, the new Bears’ staff is giving him the best chance, alongside fellow 2021 Draft pick Larry Borom, to start at right or left tackle.
Jenkins underwent back surgery in the preseason last year and was placed on injured reserve. He returned and made his debut in early December, playing on special teams. An injury to left tackle Jason Peters opened the door for Jenkins and he subbed in for the next two weeks, returning to a reserve role after that.
New offensive line coach Chris Morgan has been pleasantly surprised by the two second-year players, so far, but remarks that “everything changes once the pads come on.” It appears, though, that, for now, the starting tackle jobs are Jenkins and Borom’s to lose.
Here are some other rumors from around the NFC, starting with a rumor out of the City of Brotherly Love:
- The Eagles were the franchise that mercifully and excitedly put an end to the slide of presumed first-round pick Nakobe Dean. Dean ended up falling to the third round due to projections about his long-term health. The Eagles could’ve gone another route, though, according to Zach Berman of The Athletic. Berman says that Philadelphia reportedly had multiple trade offers to move back from the pick they used to select Dean. Due to their significant lack of of Day 3 picks, it would have made all of the sense in the world for them to take one of those teams up on their offers, but, lo and behold, the Eagles stood pat and drafted Dean, a testament to the confidence they have in his addition.
- The Eagles weren’t the only team looking at the possibility of moving. According to Brady Henderson of ESPN, “the Seahawks tried to trade up into the late first round” of the 2022 NFL Draft for Penn State outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie. Like Philadelphia, Seattle stood pat, hoping he may slide to them in the second round. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, Atlanta moved up to select Ebiketie two spots in front of them. Seattle ended up selecting Minnesota outside linebacker Boye Mafe instead. Mafe is no consolation prize but a strong pick in his own regard, having generated first-round buzz before slipping to the front of the second round. Seattle swung and missed on Ebiketie, but they most certainly did not strike out when they landed Mafe.
- The Rams won Super Bowl LVI despite the losses before the game of tight end Tyler Higbee and safety Jordan Fuller. Fuller suffered an ankle injury in the team’s Week 18 loss to the 49ers and Higbee suffered a knee injury in the NFC Championship game. Both players underwent offseason surgery and, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, are “working their way back up to full football activity.”
Browns Rumors: Hunt, Watson
Browns running back Kareem Hunt is heading into a contract year for the 2022 NFL season, after only appearing in eight games last year. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com spoke on the contract situation, reporting that it seems very up in the air for now.
Hunt entered the 2021 season as the back up to Nick Chubb, racking up 361 rushing yards, along with five touchdowns before suffering a calf injury that would land him on injured reserve. He appeared in two more games after returning from injured reserve, but sat for the last four games of the season.
Cabot posits that if negotiations can be dealt with before camp is underway, it would bode well for Cleveland’s chances to keep the Hunt-Chubb tandem together. If no deal is reached by the time the season starts, though, it would be much less likely that Hunt stays in the orange and brown.
Hunt showed in Kansas City that he can be a lead back, and, with Nick Chubb firmly planted above him on the depth chart, Hunt may be willing to let this year be an audition to other teams to show that he is healthy and ready to take over lead-back responsibilities once again.
Here are a few more rumors from Cleveland, these concerning newly acquired quarterback Deshaun Watson:
- Cleveland turned a lot of heads when they gave up a package that included three first-round draft picks to acquire Watson and then gave him a fully-guaranteed contract for $230MM, despite the 22 civil lawsuits he faces for alleged sexual misconduct and sexual assault. Mike Sando of The Athletic heard from several executives from around the NFL who thought the moved reeked of desperation. Many thought the deal showed team owner Jimmy Haslam putting head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry in a bind, forcing a move the two likely wouldn’t otherwise have made. They claim the move gives Watson undue power to force decisions and do whatever he wants, saying he “doesn’t need to listen to anybody.” One executive said that rewarding Watson with the fully-guaranteed contract basically was a statement that all of his publicized issues don’t matter.
- Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic enlisted the help of Jason Fitzgerald, operator of OverTheCap.com, to talk about some of the deals made around the NFL this offseason. Fitzgerald addressed the opinion that Watson’s legal situation being ignored in the awarding of his fully-guaranteed contract will set a new precedent for guaranteed contacts around the league. “I don’t think it will,” Fitzgerald said. He continued, “I know I’m in the minority on that…He was basically a free agent. The Texans said, ‘Go out and sell yourself to these teams.’ And that was what he did…Deshaun Watson was essentially a free agent. I don’t think there’s any other quarterbacks that ever make it to free agency to where they’re even gonna have that opportunity.” He compared the situation to Kirk Cousins, when he signed his first fully-guaranteed deal, ignoring the obvious publicity issues that come with Watson’s situation. He even mentioned earlier in the article that he saw Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson pursuing a situation that will play out similar to Cousins’. So it’s strange that a couple teams later in the article, he would claim that the precedent doesn’t matter because he thinks it likely won’t happen again. Regardless, Fitzgerald seemed to acknowledge that a precedent may have been set, but minimized the importance of that precedent on the assumption that similar situations would be few and far between.
Patriots Rumors: Injury Updates, Zappe, Perkins
The Patriots released some practice photos recently and, according to Zack Cox of NESN, some of the pictures seem to indicate the much anticipated returns of several previously-injured Patriots. These players included running back James White, cornerback Jonathan Jones, tight end Dalton Keene, linebacker Raekwon McMillan, and linebacker Anfernee Jennings.
White suffered a hip injury last year that required surgery serious enough to end his season and leave him bedridden for months. He hasn’t been fully cleared to return, but seeing him active on the field bodes well for his recovery.
Jones had surgery to repair his shoulder in October and missed the remainder of the season in recovery. McMillan tore his ACL before the season started, but impressed in his limited time before the injury. Keene and Jennings were both placed on injured reserve in August and missed the entire season as a result.
Here are a few other rumors from New England:
- New England turned some heads on Day 3 of the Draft when they selected quarterback Bailey Zappe in the fourth round. At a point in the Draft where some teams normally address their positional needs, the Patriots selected a quarterback in the first draft after rookie passer Mac Jones led them to the playoffs. For an explanation, ESPN’s Mike Reiss pointed to a discussion with analysts Todd McShay and Louis Riddick, in which they cover “how it can be good business to draft and develop quarterbacks.” He also quotes former NFL general manger Randy Mueller who applauded the pick, saying that he would rather draft for value over need at that point in the Draft.
- After not appearing in any regular season games last season, second-year Patriots outside linebacker Ronnie Perkins is ready to take the next step, according to Reiss. Perkins was buried on the depth chart behind Kyle Van Noy, now with the Chargers, and Jamie Collins, now a free agent. The departure of Van Noy and Collins leaves a hole opposite Pro Bowl pass rusher Matt Judon and Reiss reports that New England coaches are confident Perkins is getting ready to step up.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/21/22
The only drafted rookie who signed their contract today:
Cincinnati Bengals
- DL Zachary Carter (third round, Florida)
NFL Staff Notes: Bears, Jaguars, 49ers, Raiders
New Bears general manager Ryan Poles announced several promotions and additions to the team’s scouting and football administration departments this week.
Breck Ackley has been promoted from area scout to assistant director of college scouting. Former pro scout Chris White is now assistant director of pro scouting. Former national scouts Sam Summerville and Francis Saint Paul have added “senior” to the their titles. Ashton Washington made a large leap going from a scouting assistant to player personnel coordinator. Fellow former scouting assistant Charles Love has been made a pro scout. In terms of area scouts, John Syty will now cover the Southwest area, Brendan Rehor will cover the Southeast area, Tom Bradway comes from the Raiders to cover the Northeast area, and former long-time Texans scout Ryan Cavanaugh comes from Ohio State to cover the Midwest area. Finally, Ryan Weese joins the staff from Montana State as a scouting assistant.
Mike Santarelli has been promoted from director of football systems to executive director of football technology. Former salary cap/pro scouting analyst James Cosh has been promoted to manager of football administration/pro scout.
Here are a few other staff hires from around the NFL:
- According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, former 49ers vice president Ethan Waugh has been hired by Jacksonville in the role of assistant general manager, rejoining Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke, whom he worked with from 2005-16. With Waugh out of the picture, San Francisco’s player personnel hierarchy is much clearer with assistant general manager Adam Peters and director of player personnel Ran Carthon directly under general manager John Lynch.
- The Raiders have made an addition to their football analytics department, according to ESPN’s Seth Walder, hiring Brad Goldsberry away from Chicago to serve as director of football systems.
AFC Rumors: Browns, Steelers, Chargers, Walker
In the 2021 NFL Draft, Cleveland had every intention of drafting Florida kicker Evan McPherson at No. 153 overall, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. Unfortunately for the Browns, division-rival Cincinnati beat them to the punch, drafting McPherson four spots earlier. McPherson had an impressive rookie-season, converting 28 of 33 field goals and 46 of 48 extra points in the regular season, as well as going a perfect 14 of 14 on field goals and 6 of 6 on extra points in the Bengals’ Super Bowl run.
Afraid of watching another top kicker succeed elsewhere, Cleveland jumped at the opportunity to take this years’ best boot, LSU’s Cade York, at No. 124 overall. After missing four extra points and six field goals in his freshman year, York was perfect on extra points and only missed six-combined field goals in his last two seasons at LSU. York might be forgiven for his four missed extra points in 2019, as Joe Burrow and the Tigers’ championship-winning offense forced him to attempt an insane 93 extra points that year. His leg was probably pretty worn out. For comparison, he only attempted 75 extra points over the next two seasons.
Time will tell if the Browns spent a fourth-round pick to ensure a homerun addition or if the Browns’ fear of missing out yet again led to them jumping the gun and over-valuing the only kicker taken in the Draft.
Here are a few other rumors from around the AFC, starting with a rumor from the Steel City:
- Pittsburgh spent the 2021 NFL season without defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt due to both a knee injury suffered early in training camp and the grief of losing his brother during OTAs. The assumption, according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, is that Tuitt’s knee is healed after a year, but the fact that he remained absent due to personal issues (according to the team) is the larger concern. If healthy, can Tuitt find the will to return to the field? Another potential absence before mandatory minicamp is the Steelers’ top receiver from last year, Diontae Johnson. Johnson is pushing for a contract extension and all signs point to him not showing up until absolutely necessary. Ideally, they would like their number one wideout to start building chemistry with new quarterbacks Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett, but there’s no need to panic until he decides to hold out from training camp.
- Offensive tackle Drew Himmelman recently found himself heading to Washington after hitting the waiver wire. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Chargers put in a waiver claim on Himmelman but didn’t have the priority. This is the second time this week that Los Angeles failed to add some offensive line depth after they, and the Commanders, failed to obtain now-Jaguars’ offensive guard Wes Martin, who was waived by the Giants. The Chargers were able to add Boston College’s Zion Johnson and Georgia’s Jamaree Salyer to a line that returns starters Rashawn Slater, Corey Linsley, Storm Norton, and Matt Feiler through the Draft, but they clearly want to bring more competition to camp in order to build the best offensive line possible to protect their young quarterback.
- No. 1 overall draft pick Travon Walker spent most of his time in Athens rotating around the defensive line. So far in minicamp, though, according to Jaguars Senior Writer John Oehser, Walker has been seeing work at one position: outside linebacker. This is part of head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke‘s plan to help develop Walker, focusing first on outside linebacker work before eventually utilizing his versatility around the line. Not only did Walker’s work at linebacker focus on pass rushing, he also worked with outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey on dropping back into coverage. Jacksonville appears happy with Walker’s development so far and will look forward to seeing his full potential as he continues to learn and grow.
NFC East Rumors: Feliciano, Giants, Cowboys, Dickerson
New Giants’ interior offensive lineman Jon Feliciano had some interesting comments about how his time in Buffalo came to an end, according to Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com. After not being utilized in the Bills’ overtime loss to Kansas City, Felicano was quoted saying part of him thought they “got what (they) deserved.”
After riding out his rookie contract as a reserve lineman in Oakland, Feliciano signed a two-year deal to join the Bills. Despite only starting four games for the Raiders as an injury-replacement for Kelechi Osemele, Feliciano earned a starting job playing right guard for all 16 games of his first year in Buffalo. A shoulder injury and torn pectoral muscle delayed the start of his 2020 season, but, upon his return, he started the final nine games of the season, winning the Bills’ 2020 Ed Block Courage Award.
Feliciano signed a three-year extension before the 2021 season and began the year starting six of the first seven games at left guard. A calf injury landed him on injured reserve for a little over a month, but, upon his return, he was not welcomed back to his starting job, with Ike Boettger manning the position. Even when Boettger was unavailable in the playoffs, Buffalo turned to Ryan Bates, who had recorded the first four starts of his career earlier in the season, in lieu of putting Feliciano back in the starting lineup.
With the apparent contempt over the situation in Buffalo, it’s a bit of a surprise to see Feliciano follow his offensive coordinator, now-Giants head coach Brian Daboll, and his offensive line coach, Bobby Johnson, to New York. Johnson has a lot of respect for Feliciano, who he’s coached since their time together began in Oakland. A potential draw might have been that Feliciano will get the opportunity to play center for the Giants after playing at guard dating all the way back to his college days in Miami.
Here are a few other rumors from around the NFC East, starting with another rumor about Big Blue:
- Daboll earned his first head coaching job due to his success calling plays in Buffalo. He hired former NFL quarterback Mike Kafka as the Giants’ new offensive coordinator after Kafka served as the Chiefs quarterbacks coach & passing game coordinator the past two years. Kafka has never called plays for an offense, as Chiefs head coach Andy Reid calls plays in Kansas City, but Daboll and the G-Men have provided Kafka the opportunity to try so far in offseason practices, according to Josh Alper of NBC Sports. It’s a show of good faith by Daboll and a low-risk chance, as Daboll can easily take the reins if they don’t believe Kafka is ready for NFL play-calling yet.
- With the Bronco’s franchise rumored to be selling around $4.5BB, Peter King of NBC Sports was curious about the value of the NFL’s most valuable franchise, the Cowboys. According to Forbes, King says $6.5BB. According to popular NFL business consultant Marc Ganis, King says $8-8.5BB. According to Cowboys’ owner/president/general manager/supreme ruler Jerry Jones, King says over $10BB. Jones quickly added without provocation, “But let me make this very clear, I’ll say it definitively: I will never do it. I will never sell the Cowboys. Ever.” So feel free to put away your checkbooks. Jerry isn’t interested.
- When the Eagles drafted Landon Dickerson out of Alabama last year, the idea was that the Crimson Tide’s unanimous All-American center and Rimington Trophy winner would eventually serve as the replacement for long-time center Jason Kelce. Well, according to Zach Berman of The Athletic, their plans may have shifted. Dickerson proved too talented to keep off the field and found his first opportunity at playing time at left guard. The chemistry with Dickerson next to tackle Jordan Mailata has the Eagles’ brass excited and eager to keep the tandem next to each other. This plan likely informed their decision to use their second-round pick this year on Nebraska center Cam Jurgens. Jurgens also has the flexibility to play guard and center, but with Dickerson likely to stick at guard, Jurgens becomes the clear front-runner to eventually replace Kelce.
Ravens Reunite With DL Urban
A late report this Friday evening, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network tweeted that defensive lineman Brent Urban will rejoin the team that drafted him, crediting Urban’s wife in the report. Urban reportedly agreed to a one-year deal to return to Baltimore. 
Urban was drafted by the Ravens in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Virginia. Due to a torn ACL, followed by a torn bicep, Urban didn’t make his NFL debut until Week 12 of his sophomore season, blocking a potential game-winning field goal that was returned by teammate Will Hill for a game-winning touchdown as time expired.
Urban earned the starting job at right defensive end to begin his third season, but a Lisfranc foot injury sidelined him for the season after only three games. In his contract year, Urban finally got to play an entire healthy season, starting every game of the year for Baltimore.
The next season, Urban followed defensive coordinator Dean Pees from Baltimore to Tennessee, signing with the Titans. After four games of backup duty, he was released but promptly picked up by the Bears, who needed to replace injured defensive end Akiem Hicks. Chicago re-signed Urban for another year, in which he earned eight starts filling in for another injured-Bear, Roy Robertson-Harris. Last year, Urban signed with the Cowboys starting four of the six games he appeared in before once again being placed on injured reserve in late October.
Urban will have to work to earn a roster spot in Baltimore. On the interior, Baltimore re-signed Calais Campbell and brought back another former-Raven in Michael Pierce. They also drafted Travis Jones who is expected to compete as a rookie for playing time with other recent draft picks Justin Madubuike and Broderick Washington. At defensive end, Baltimore will utilize Odafe Oweh and Jaylon Ferguson to rush the passer. Derek Wolfe is on roster as a plus run-defender.
Baltimore mixes up the defensive alignments, with Campbell lining up all over the line and pass rushers like Oweh, Ferguson, and linebacker Tyus Bowser alternating between standing up and putting a hand in the dirt. The lack of options on the outside of the line could provide Urban an opportunity to stake his claim to a roster-spot next season.
Urban’s unfortunate injury-history is a potential red-flag for the deal, especially after Baltimore watched a hip injury sideline Wolfe for the entire 2022 NFL season. Wolfe and Urban will play similar roles on the Ravens’ defense, so the addition of Urban may serve both players to share playing time and not put too much of a load on the recovering linemen.