The Seattle Seahawks are acquiring quarterback Sam Howell in a trade with the Commanders, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Thursday. Seattle will receive Howell, a fourth-round pick (No. 102 overall) and a sixth-rounder (No. 179) in exchange for picks in the third (No. 78) and fifth (No. 152) rounds, the sources told Schefter. The third-rounder the Seahawks are giving up is their own pick -- they have an extra pick in the third round via a trade with the Denver Broncos last April.
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Fantasy Football Impact
The trade for Howell, who started for Washington last season, solidifies the Seahawks' quarterback depth after Drew Lock agreed to sign with the New York Giants in free agency -- and ESPN.com's Brady Henderson believes it could mean competition for Geno Smith for the No. 1 job.
As NFL.com's Nick Schook explained, Howell's future in Washington became increasingly uncertain once the Commanders fired his greatest supporter, coach Ron Rivera, and replaced him with Dan Quinn. General manager Adam Peters then proceeded to sign veteran Marcus Mariota this week, giving the team an experienced, low-ceiling option before shopping Howell with the expectation Washington will use the second-overall pick on a quarterback in April's draft.
Howell started all 17 games this past season, throwing an NFL-high 612 passes. He finished with the 12th most yards in the NFL with 3,946. He also threw 21 touchdowns and 21 interceptions and was sacked an NFL-high 65 times.
From a fantasy perspective, Howell was serviceable -- at times.
He hit a stride midway through the season and, after 10 games, led the NFL in passing yards (2,783) and was fifth in touchdowns (17). But in his last seven games, Howell threw only four touchdown passes and was intercepted 12 times as the Commanders lost eight in a row.
His short-term value in Seattle depends on how the new coaching staff views Smith. Assuming there's an actual competition, which seems likely, Howell is worth watching as the regular season draws nearer. But even if he wins the starting job in Seattle, he'll be a low-end QB2 until he proves capable of more.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
And what are Howell's chances of winning the starting job? Smith made the Pro Bowl and won NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2022 in his first season as Seattle's full-time starter after spending most of the previous seven seasons as a backup. He threw an NFL-record seven go-ahead touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and overtime in 2023.
But his numbers dipped across the board this past season, including 10 fewer touchdown passes (he also threw two fewer interceptions).
The Seahawks restructured Smith's contract the last week of February. The restructure will spread the $9.6 million evenly over the next two seasons, while his cap hit this season will drop from $31.2 million to $26.4 million. His 2025 cap hit, however, escalates to $38.5 million.
However, the restructured deal doesn't buy the veteran signal-caller job security.
During an interview on 93.3 KJR radio in Seattle last Friday, Mike Macdonald was asked whether Smith would be the starter again this year, and the first-year coach declined to give a definitive answer.
"The first thing that I want everybody to know is that as an organization, we're always looking, trying to figure out what's best for the team," Macdonald said. We're always going to try and make the best decisions for the team."
Macdonald mentioned that he wants Smith to work with offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and quarterbacks coach Charles London when offseason workouts begin in April. Instead of making a declaration so early in the offseason, he will take things from there.
"I don't want you to feel like I'm dodging this answer, but that's what I'm excited about, for him to come in here and start to build this team the way we envision building it," Macdonald said. "And the only way to do that is to go work with it. That's what I'm focused on, man."
So, as SI.com's Daniel Chavkin notes, even with the new contract and the associated cap hits, a new coaching staff means a new group of people will decide Smith's fate.
"For now," Chavkin added, "Smith is the top quarterback on the depth chart, but there is a while before the season begins in September."
Also for now, Smith sits at QB24 on the Footballguys 2024 Draft Rankings, one ahead of Deshaun Watson. It's not hard to argue that Watson's role is more certain as things stand now. That said, drafting Smith as a tail-end QB2 based on the supporting cast alone -- DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and running backs Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet -- is reasonable. Until it's not.
Meanwhile, it should be status quo for Metcalf, Lockett, Smith-Njigba, and the rest of the skill players here until we have reason to believe change is coming at QB.
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Overview
The Washington Commanders are trading Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks. Washington is sending Howell, a 2024 fourth-round pick (No. 102 overall) and a 2024 sixth-round pick (No. 179) in exchange for a 2024 third-rounder (No. 78) and a 2024 fifth-rounder (No. 152). Howell is leaving Washington for an interesting situation in Seattle. Geno Smith remains the team's starter after a season that failed to meet the high expectations Smith had set for himself with an explosive 2022 showing. As NFL.com suggests, with two years left on Smith's deal, the Seahawks are taking a low-risk gamble on Howell, who could benefit from a year or two spent learning behind a veteran signal-caller.
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