The Seattle Seahawks confirmed who will be its starter on week one.
After Friday night’s wild last few minutes, head coach Pete Carroll confirmed that the guy will be Geno Smith.
“He’s gonna start the opener and he’s earned it,” Carroll said.
“He’s won the job. With the time frames that got messed up for Drew [Lock], he just ran out of time.”
Lock, who was a piece acquired this offseason by the Seahawks in the blockbuster Russell Wilson trade, didn’t do nearly enough to impress and challenge Smith for the job.
In Friday’s preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, Lock completed 13-of-24 passes for 171 yards.
He threw three interceptions to just one touchdown and finished the night with a 51.2 passer rating.
Meanwhile, Lock did get some bad luck and was forced to miss the second week of the preseason with Covid-19.
Smith, on the other hand, has completed 59% of his passes this preseason with a quarterback rating of 78.6.
While the 31-year-old didn’t throw a touchdown pass, he didn’t surrender an interception either.
The former New York Jets second-round pick started a few games last year after Wilson suffered a dislocated finger injury.
In four games, Smith completed 68.4% of his passes, throwing for five touchdowns and one interception.
Lock appeared in six games last year for the Denver Broncos, completing 60.4% of his passes for 787 yards.
After Smith’s stint with the Jets ended, his role has mainly been as a backup QB.
He hasn’t started a week 1 since 2014.
The Seahawks’ opening game will be against the Broncos on Monday, September 12.
In next year’s draft, the Seahawks are slated to pick twice in the first round.
One of the selections could be on a QB, as Lock and Smith won’t likely be in the Seahawks’ long-term starting plans.
