Seahawks coach Pete Carroll named Smith the starter for Week 1 of the regular season after the team’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Friday night. Smith was seemingly the frontrunner throughout the quarterback competition with Drew Lock, and after Lock threw three interceptions Friday, Carroll made the announcement to start the postgame press conference. “He’s going to start the opener, and he earned it, earned the job,” Carroll said. “With the timelines, he messed us up for Drew, he just ran out of time to make his bid on it. And so yeah, I’m cool with it, so I just want to let you all know, you don’t have to don’t ask me about that anymore. In the meantime, Drew is going to keep fighting because he can play and he’s got all the stuff in him and I want him to be ready in a moment. And he’s going to keep growing and pushing and developing into a fantastic player and I have no problem playing him, so we’re fortunate to have two guys that can go, and when he comes off the bench, if he gets his chance he’s ready to go and try to light it up.” The 31-year-old Smith is getting a second chance to start just a decade after being selected by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Smith started 30 games in four seasons with the Gang Green, but ultimately fell short. Now entering his third season with the Seahawks, he will make his regular season debut on a huge prime-time stage on Sept. 12 when Seattle hosts the Denver Broncos and quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson was a nine-time Pro Bowler and one-time Super Bowl winner with the Seahawks over the past 10 years, with Smith serving as his backup the last two. “You know it means a lot, it’s something I’ve been preparing for and the reality is it’s just the first step, it’s just the beginning and I’ve got to make sure I’m ready to go out there and win and play 17 games and more,” he said Smith to be named starter. “Well, for me, I’m grateful, grateful, forever indebted to the Seattle Seahawks organization, but it’s time to get to work.” Smith started three games for Seattle last season in relief of the injured Wilson. That was the beginning of a lead in his rivalry with Locke, who was acquired by the club in the trade that sent Wilson to Denver. Having been the leader in the clubhouse throughout the QB battle, Smith essentially cemented the job Friday off the bench. Lock has more upside in the playmaking department, but as he showed against the Cowboys, far more downside. His second pass of the night was a foul ball to Dallas’ Israel Muquamu for the first of his three picks. Smith started, but only one series. He went 3 of 6 for 43 yards and led Seattle to a field goal. Locke, who took a costly hit in Week 1 of the preseason that led to the Seahawks’ loss to the Steelers, had his good games, but the bad ones clearly got more attention than Carroll. “Geno just knows our stuff and he’s doing really well and he understands it and he can handle everything that we do, and he’s good with the football,” Carroll said. “It will give us the best opportunity to play great football right off the bat.” As Carroll mentioned, Lock also had some bad luck. He was scheduled to start the team’s second preseason game, but tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier in the week, Carroll said he didn’t have a timetable for making a decision, but by the end of Friday night, it was clear to him that it was time for Geno to move on.
