Head coach Pete Carroll wants the Seattle Seahawks to stand pat at quarterback, throwing his support behind newcomer Drew Lock.
Carroll said Lock would’ve been the top-rated quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft, couching the opinion as part of the reason he’s comfortable not chasing other available quarterbacks.
“I don’t see us making a trade for anybody at all. I don’t see that happening,” Carroll said in an interview with KJR-FM in Seattle. “But we’re certainly going to continue to be open to chances to help our club, and meanwhile we’re just going to be battling and competing our tails off. There’s always possibilities, so we keep open to that.”
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is the name that continues to come up, but Carroll would only say the Seahawks are always going to “keep looking” and competing.
Lock came to Seattle as part of the package the Denver Broncos traded to get Russell Wilson in March.
Lock had 787 passing yards, two scores and two interceptions in six games last season, serving primarily as the backup to Teddy Bridgewater in Denver in 2021. He has 24 career appearances and is 8-13 as a starter.
A second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, he has completed 59.3 percent of his passes for 4,740 yards, 25 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
Mayfield was displaced as the starter in Cleveland when the Browns acquired Deshaun Watson. The Carolina Panthers are another team commonly associated with Mayfield rumors.
But Mayfield himself said last month he didn’t know where he might end up before suggesting “maybe Seattle.”
Carroll said the competition he envisions is with Lock, Geno Smith and Jacob Eason.
“All three of our guys have great arms,” Carroll said. “They can rip the ball around the field. They are really talented, arm-talent wise. They are big, sharp and move the ball well. Right now, you can’t tell the difference from one thrower to the next because they can all just chuck it.”
