Seahawks' puzzling Drew Lock reunion should make Sam Howell nervous

Drew Lock is back with the Seattle Seahawks. After spending a couple of years with Seattle, the free agent quarterback left for a season to play with the New York Giants. He was part of the Russell Wilson trade that sent Wilson to the Denver Broncos in 2022. The thought was that Lock could battle for the starting spot when he arrived, but the job was likely Geno Smith's all along.

Lock was mediocre with the Giants in 2024, but he had one fantastic game when he passed for four touchdowns and 309 yards against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17. The Giants had struggled all season offensively, so that one week was strange. Lock's performance was even stranger.

Lock did start a couple of games for the Seahawks in 2023, and he wasn't terrible. He won one, lost one, and had three touchdown passes versus three interceptions while completing 63 percent of his passes. He left for New York because he wanted a chance to start, but the Giants never gave him a real shot to do so.

Drew Lock reportedly signs with the Seattle Seahawks in a strange move

Seattle signed Sam Darnold this offseason, and he is the clear QB1. If anyone should be nervous, it should be Sam Howell. Howell has one year left on his rookie contract, started a full season with the Washington Commanders in 2023, and was terrible in limited action for Seattle last season.

The oddness is that Seattle would seem safer to take a quarterback in the NFL draft to battle with Howell and potentially replace Darnold. That now seems off the table. Why would the team choose a quarterback and then have a room that has four quarterbacks when the team is almost certain to only keep two on its active roster?

The other question is what general manager John Schneider told Lock to get him to sign. Surely, Lock had other options. When he left after the 2023 season, he said he and his wife liked the Seattle area, but Lock is not only assured of not being the starter in 2025, but he isn't assured of a roster spot.

Terms were not immediately available for Lock's signing, but 12s should hope it isn't expensive. Howell is only going to be paid $1.1 million if he is on the roster. If Lock signed for much more than that and he sticks on the Seahawks but Howell leaves, the team is losing money simply to change backup quarterbacks.

Update: ESPN reports Lock signed a two-year deal worth a maximum of $5 million.