Seahawks give Drew Lock no guarantees he’ll start at quarterback. But who will be his competition?

Drew Lock and Pete Carroll should get along just fine.

Philosophical differences were one factor in the Seahawks’ decision to fire offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer after the 2020 season and to trade quarterback Russell Wilson earlier this month. So it makes sense, after hearing from Lock on Monday, why Carroll believes he and his new quarterback can have a successful partnership.

In response to a question last week about whether he can win a championship with Lock, Carroll dove into his core principles: run the football, play good defense, be great on special teams. The quarterback’s role, Carroll likes to say, is to be the point guard. It’s his job to manage the game, be effective on third down and hit the occasional deep shot. In Carroll’s system, the quarterback doesn’t always have to be the reason they win the game; he just can’t be the reason they lose.

This mindset aligns with comments Lock made during a video call with reporters on Monday, when he was asked about the idea of being a game manager and the point guard of the offense.

“There is definitely a game-manager identity to being a really, really good quarterback in this league,” Lock said, adding that he observed what this looks like from watching Teddy Bridgewater last season in Denver. “I learned a lot from him. Being able to watch those first games when I was actually the backup and (I) watched how he worked the pocket, watched how he managed games, watched how he came to the sideline, it was the first time I got to feel a veteran quarterback in the room. Teddy did a good job of being a point guard and I definitely learned a lot from him on how to do that.”

What does managing a game look like for Lock?

“Calculated risks,” he said. “We know that we got plays that are designed to take a shot. But if they’re not there, check it down. Don’t be afraid to just move the chains. If you gain a yard on this play, it’s a positive play for us. That was a big mentality Teddy took and being safe with the ball at the same time.”

Lock clearly believes a strong five-game stretch to end his rookie season in 2019 is indicative of the type of player he can be, something Carroll also referenced when discussing Lock last week. Lock took over in Week 13 and quarterbacked victories over the Chargers and Texans, lost to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Chiefs, then closed the year with wins over the Lions and Raiders. Lock in those five starts threw seven touchdowns against three interceptions and averaged 6.5 yards per attempt with a quarterback rating of 50.2. Lock’s 4.5 touchdown percentage ranked 15th among quarterbacks with at least five starts, according to TruMedia, and his interception rate (1.9 percent) ranked 17th.

Lock said Rich Scangarello’s modernized West Coast offense the Broncos ran in 2019 is similar to what offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is running in Seattle. Lock believes operating in a somewhat familiar system can maximize his skill set.

“We won four of the five games, I played efficient football, took care of the ball, scored in the red zone, hit the deep shots when they were there,” Lock said of his rookie season. “Collectively, as a group, when we start talking and getting into the deep details of his offense and what might be good for me … we’ll put it all together and end up being able to put a good offense together that makes my skill set shine. I can throw the deep ball, I can move around in the pocket, I can play-action — whatever you might need me to do, I’ll do it.”

This five-game sample to which Lock, Carroll and GM John Schneider keep referring requires some context. Lock’s four wins came against defenses ranked 25th, 22nd, 23rd and 31st in Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric. The Chiefs’ defense finished 14th in DVOA. In that game, Lock completed 18 of 40 passes for 208 yards, no touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Broncos lost 23-3. Lock’s 14.0 QBR was the lowest in the league that week, according to ESPN. Drawing any definitive conclusions in either direction from that stretch is probably unwise, especially since Lock was a rookie with little film for defenses to dissect.

Lock’s 2020 season is probably a better sample to analyze, but context is required there, too. Pat Shurmur replaced Scangarello as offensive coordinator, but because of COVID-19 restrictions on gathering at team facilities, Lock had to learn the offense virtually. Denver used its top two draft picks in 2020 on receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler, neither of whom could practice in person with their new teammates until training camp.

Lock started 13 of Denver’s 16 games and ranked 27th in EPA per play, 26th in yards per attempt and 27th in touchdown percentage, according to TruMedia. He had the third-highest interception rate and the fourth-lowest passer rating. Denver was 4-9 with Lock as the starter.

“There’s just a lot that went into that year,” Lock said of his subpar sophomore campaign.

But, he added: “It does not excuse some of the decisions and some of the play I had. But there was a lot that went into it.”

The Seahawks have already given Lock the benefit of the doubt for his performances in Denver, so rehashing the past is only but so useful at this point. And it’s not as if the Seahawks are that sold on Lock, seeing as they’re openly exploring other quarterback options.

Seattle reportedly had interest in acquiring Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans before Watson chose Cleveland as his new team. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reported Monday that the Seahawks and Panthers have had preliminary discussions with Baker Mayfield’s camp as the quarterback looks to get out of Cleveland. Carroll has said on numerous occasions that he wants Geno Smith back with the Seahawks this season. As Lock spoke to the media Monday morning, Seattle quarterbacks coach Dave Canales was at Kenny Pickett’s pro day. Seattle will likely send at least one staffer to additional pro days to watch the other top quarterback prospects in the 2022 class.

With the QB market thinning, what's next for Baker Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo?

◽️ Mayfield's camp had preliminary discussions with the Seahawks and Panthers, per source
◽️ 49ers might not be in a rush to move Garoppolo

The full story from @jeffphowe: https://t.co/1SkfGKWUCq pic.twitter.com/fQ1TpmC8fy

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 21, 2022

Carroll also hasn’t given Lock any guarantees he’ll be the starting quarterback this season. The Seahawks believe in Lock, but they’re not yet fully committed to making him the Week 1 starter.

“There’s a lot of things I need to do to show this organization I should be the one taking those snaps, but right now nothing is promised,” Lock said. “It’s just my job to come in and work extremely hard and compete for that starting job.”

The keyword: compete.

But who will be the competition?

With Jameis Winston (Saints) and Marcus Mariota (Falcons) off the board — and assuming the Niners are unwilling to trade Jimmy Garoppolo to a division rival — the most likely veteran quarterback option would be Mayfield (or Smith, obviously).

Over the Cap lists the Seahawks with approximately $25 million in effective cap space, which accounts for the money the team will have to spend on its 2022 draft class. However, that total does not include the contracts belonging to free safety Quandre Diggs (three years, $40 million), cornerback Sidney Jones (one year, $3.6 million), running back Rashaad Penny (one year, $5.75 million) or defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson (two years, $9.5 million). Seattle still has holes to fill at both offensive tackle positions. Both left tackle Duane Brown and right tackle Brandon Shell remain unsigned.

Mayfield turns 27 next month and has one year and an $18.8 million fully guaranteed base salary remaining on his contract. Seattle can fit Mayfield’s contract under the cap, but it wouldn’t have flexibility to do much else. One way to solve that problem would be to extend Mayfield’s contract, convert some of his base salary into a signing bonus and spread the money out across the length of the new deal. This has the potential to dramatically lower Mayfield’s 2022 cap hit into the seven-figure range and allow Seattle to add talent to the roster.

But restructuring Mayfield’s deal in this way would also create a long-term commitment to a player whose previous team was unwilling to make such a commitment after watching him start for four seasons. It’s also unclear what assets the Seahawks would have to give the Browns in exchange for Mayfield (after acquiring Watson, Cleveland doesn’t have any leverage when it comes to negotiating compensation).

Mayfield in 14 games last season threw 17 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. He ranked 21st in EPA per dropback, according to TruMedia. The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia has a good breakdown here of Mayfield’s trade value. The gist: Mayfield was a below-average starter in 2021. But perhaps an average starter is all Carroll believes he needs so long as the rest of the team functions at a high level to support the quarterback.

(Photo: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)