Seahawks trade for QB Sam Howell

Seahawks acquire QB Sam Howell in trade with Washington: Seaside Joe 1839

Washington quarterback Sam Howell has been on my radar for over two years, dating back to why I thought the Seattle Seahawks should have drafted him in 2022 to writing last month that he was a better option on the trade market than Justin Fields. Then on Thursday, the Seahawks completed my request and officially made Howell a Seattle quarterback.

The Seahawks are trading picks 78 and 152 to the Washington Moons in exchange for Sam Howell, pick 102 and pick 179.

With the Seahawks, Howell should immediately be an option to start at quarterback in 2024. Even though Geno Smith is on the roster and slated to be the Week 1 starter—which is what I expect him to be right now—Howell could start if the team trades Geno or if there is a need to make a change during the season for reasons of injury or performance.

BONUS ARTICLE: Sam Howell could be the most valuable QB acquisition of 2024

I’ve long felt that Geno makes such good sense for the Bears this season, not the quarterback going back to Seattle the other way, and now the acquisition of Howell kills two birds at once if that trade were to happen: The Seahawks have a starter in place and they won’t need to acquire Fields in return.

Howell was on again, off again with the Moons last season and backup Jacoby Brissett did play a lot better than he did in his limited opportunities as the replacement. However, Washington had one of the worst supporting casts in football, if not the worst OL, the worst non-WR1 room, and issues at TE and RB. As well as the unknown offensive coordinator commodity that is Eric Bieniemy, who is currently not an offensive coordinator in the NFL.

With the Seahawks, Howell seems to be in a better situation and he could potentially build on the positive steps forward he did take in his first two seasons in the NFL since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. Howell had 21 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in 2023.

For longtime Seaside Joe subscribers who are interested to know, one reason I’ve been monitoring Howell for years and studied him as far back as high school is that he grew up in the same small town and in the same graduating class as Grayson McCall. Howell’s presence as one of the top QB prospects in the entire country overshadowed McCall’s recruiting trail and he ended up going to Coastal Carolina while Howell was the top recruit at UNC.

Now Howell is headed to Seattle. Could another UNC or Carolina quarterback come next?