The Seattle Seahawks are going into the 2022 NFL season with Geno Smith as their starting quarterback and Drew Lock as the second-stringer. However, that doesn’t mean they’re not making sure they have a few emergency options available on the depth chart.
Thursday, the Seahawks signed free agent quarterback Sean Mannion to their practice squad.
“Sean is probably going to end up being a head coach in this league at some point,” general manager John Schneider said in a team statement. “… He’s a guy that is like another coach in the room for Geno (Smith) and Drew (Lock).”
The Oregon State product was originally a third-round pick of the then-St. Louis Rams in 2015. Over four seasons with the Rams, he appeared in 10 games with the team, starting one, in which he threw for 126 yards and two interceptions in a loss.
In 2019, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings and appeared in three games for the team in two years. After a very brief offseason stint with the Seattle Seahawks, he returned to the Vikings in 2021, starting one game in Week 17 and throwing his first NFL touchdown.
The Vikings released Mannion on Monday and now he’s back with Seattle, though this time on the practice squad.
The 30-year-old played for current Seattle offensive coordinator Shane Waldron when he was an assistant under Sean McVay with the Rams.
The Seahawks have put a lot of effort into getting Smith and Lock to compete for the quarterback job, but if things don’t work out or if one of them gets injured, it’s very possible that Mannion could be elevated to the roster to try and compete for playing time.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.