Reunion Under Center: Seahawks Bring Back Veteran QB Drew Lock
In an interesting move that could lead to significant ripple effects at the quarterback position for the franchise, the Seattle Seahawks have brought back a familiar face to back up new starter Sam Darnold in 2025.
Per a team source, the Seahawks have agreed to terms with veteran signal caller Drew Lock on a multi-year deal, bringing him back to the Pacific Northwest after spending last season with the Giants. Financial terms for the agreement have yet to be disclosed.
A second-round pick out of Missouri in 2019, Lock previously served as a starter for the Broncos, throwing 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions during the 2020 season. However, he lost his starting job to veteran Teddy Bridgewater during the preseason the following August, spending the majority of the 2021 season in a backup role before being sent to Seattle as part of the blockbuster Russell Wilson trade in March 2022.
Upon arrival, Lock competed against Geno Smith for the right to succeed Wilson as the Seahawks new starter, ultimately losing the competition. While he didn’t see much action during two seasons with the franchise, he did fill in admirably for Smith in a pair of starts late in the 2023 season, including engineering a game-winning drive that culminated with a touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba against the Eagles on Monday Night Football that kept the team’s playoff hopes alive.
In three games for Seattle, Lock threw for 543 yards with a 63.2 percent completion rate, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. Last season, he appeared in eight games with five starts in New York, throwing six touchdowns and five interceptions with 1,071 passing yards.
With Smith now in Las Vegas, the Seahawks quickly pivoted on the first day of free agency by signing Darnold to a three-year contract worth up to $100.5 million while also including incentive escalators. Under the terms of the deal, he will join his new team as the undisputed starter running offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s offense, but Lock’s return could create questions about Sam Howell’s future with the franchise.
Back in March 2024, Seattle swapped mid-round picks with Washington to acquire Howell, who some viewed as a potential successor to Smith at the time of the trade. However, he struggled mightily in former coordinator Ryan Grubb’s offense from the outset, enduring a rough training camp and completing just five out of 14 passes with an interception in his lone game action in a prime time home loss to Green Bay.
During the combine in late February, general manager John Schneider expressed interest in seeing how Howell would perform in Kubiak’s offense, which features more bootleg and rollout action that would cater well to the young quarterback’s athleticism getting him out of the pocket. But the decision to re-sign Lock puts his roster spot up for grabs, as he will have to show marked improvement in the new scheme to beat out the veteran to maintain his backup spot and will also have Jaren Hall behind him looking to stay on the roster.
It remains to be seen how things will shake out this summer, but with Lock now on board, Schneider may be indicating that the Seahawks don’t intend to pick a quarterback later this month in the 2025 NFL Draft. As things stand, the race to backup Darnold just became a lot more interesting to say the least.
