Why Sam Howell could be the most valuable quarterback acquisition of 2024
Why Sam Howell could be the most valuable quarterback acquisition of 2024
If he's not the best QB moved in 2024, he could be the best bargain: 3/14/2024
As I was writing an article about which quarterback options were left available to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, and about to write about Sam Howell, the Seahawks skipped the line and traded for Howell before I could finish. I’m okay claiming that I would have predicted Howell as one of, if not the most likely choice to add at quarterback because it wouldn’t be the first time.
Bengals backup Jake Browning is the best non-starter that nobody talks about but Cincinnati is highly unlikely to move him for that reason. In his place, Howell was the quarterback I rated as the best of those on the trade market and ranked him ahead of Mac Jones (who was traded to the Jaguars for a sixth) and Justin Fields (who may actually be closer to being released outright than to being worth the top-10 or first round pick that mainstream media was predicting two months ago).
We’re going to get to the Fields situation—I do not predict Fields will be released, the point I am making is that the media keeps moving back the goal posts on his value so that they never have to say the words, “We were wrong”—but I want stay focused here on the headline:
Sam Howell is probably not the best quarterback to change teams this year, but he already has a really good case as being the best bargain.
In terms of draft pick compensation, if there is any involved, and contractual obligations, Howell’s cost to the Seattle Seahawks rivals that of any quarterback acquisition in the entire league this month. That includes Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, and most certainly the non-acquisition of a potentially-disgruntled former first round pick who is in the news every single day regardless of his performance and comes with a far less enticing contract.
In 2020, Tom Brady was the best QB acquisition and the most valuable.
In 2021, Matthew Stafford was the best QB acquisition and the most valuable.
In 2022, Russell Wilson was the best QB to change teams but it turned out that actually Geno Smith was the most valuable.
And in 2023, Aaron Rodgers was the best QB to change teams but Geno’s $25 million average salary with relatively little guaranteed made him a genuinely good bargain regardless of regression in performance.
It’s been interesting to see that on the last couple months of the Internet, it seems as though a certain subsect of Seahawks Twitter transferred their “I need to put my hate into someone” from Pete Carroll to John Schneider now that they no longer have the head coach to absorb the blows.
Whether it was Pete or John or most likely a combination of many in the front office, in the last two years the Seahawks traded:
-Russell Wilson for two 1s, two 2s, Noah Fant, Drew Lock, Shelby Harris
-Made the playoffs with Geno Smith making $4 million
-Re-signed Geno for an annual salary of $25 million, but far the lowest amount for any starting vet QB in the NFL
-Traded virtually nothing to acquire a 23-year-old Sam Howell who will cost the team $2 million over two years
In that same period of time, the Browns traded three first round picks for Deshaun Watson and paid him $230 million guaranteed; the Broncos traded for Russell Wilson and just ate $85 million in dead cap to release him; the Saints gave Derek Carr $100 million guaranteed; the 49ers traded Trey Lance for a fourth round pick two years after they traded three first round picks to get him; the Giants paid Daniel Jones $104 million guaranteed; the Jets have so far paid Aaron Rodgers for four total snaps; the Raiders paid Jimmy Garoppolo $24 million for six games; and the Cardinals gave Kyler Murray $160 million guaranteed.
And we don’t have to get into it, but I could mention trading up for Bryce Young, I could mention the contracts for Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Kirk Cousins, and whatever the Cowboys are about to do with Dak Prescott.
But yeah, oh my god, the Seahawks have two slightly lower mid-round 2024 draft picks so that they could acquire a $1 million quarterback who is younger than Michael Penix and Bo Nix.
Some say that the Seahawks trading for Howell has something to do with the draft plans, others that it has something to do with Geno Smith, and even some are trying to connect it to Justin Fields. The answer is none of the above: The Seahawks saw an opportunity to get a quarterback who had the most pass attempts in the NFL last season (not a “good” stat, just one that might surprise you and it’s possible Howell has learned from his mistakes) for almost no risk.
Join Regular Joes or Super Joes premium to continue. Not only does Seaside Joe post every single day (1,839 days consecutively) but there is a lot of bonus content: This is already the 23rd Seahawks article of March and there’s a lot more to come between now and the 2024 NFL Draft.
This article is not why Sam Howell is the best quarterback acquisition of the offseason. These are just the reasons why he might be the most valuable: