Seahawks bringing back quarterback Drew Lock

SEATTLE — The Seahawks aren’t waiting until the NFL draft to add to their quarterback depth behind Sam Darnold.

Instead, they are bringing back a name from their recent past — Drew Lock.

A source confirmed to The Seattle Times on Friday that the Seahawks are expected to re-sign Lock, who spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Seahawks after coming to Denver as part of the Russell Wilson trade.

ESPN reported that Lock agreed to a two-year deal worth up to $5 million.

Lock was a free agent after playing last season on a one-year deal with the New York Giants.

The Giants recently signed Wilson, as well as Jameis Winston, to compete for the quarterback job and are widely expected to draft a quarterback with the third overall pick, leaving Lock expendable.

Lock started two games for the Seahawks in two seasons, both in 2023, leading them to a memorable 20-17 win over the Eagles that year, completing 48 of 76 passes for 543 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Lock did not play a snap in 2022, his first year with the Seahawks, after Geno Smith won a training camp battle to take over for Wilson as the starting quarterback.

The question now is where Lock fits into a suddenly crowded quarterback room.

Lock’s addition gives the Seahawks four quarterbacks with Darnold, Sam Howell and Jaren Hall.

Howell spent last season as the backup to Geno Smith after being acquired in March from Washington for a fifth-round pick.

Howell saw only backup action in two games, mostly in a late-season loss against Green Bay, completing 5 of 14 passes for 24 yards with one interception and a passer rating of 14.6. Howell has one year remaining on his rookie contract, due to make $1.1 million. None of that is guaranteed.

Hall, a fifth-round pick of the Vikings in 2023 out of Brigham Young, spent most of last season on the practice squad after signing Sept. 2 following his release by Minnesota.

The Seahawks were known to like Hall coming out of the draft and pursued him after his release by the Vikings. He was signed to the active roster late in the year, in part to give him a bump in pay as part of his agreement in coming to the Seahawks, though he did not play in any games.

Hall also has just one year left on his contract, due to make $1.03 million. None of that is guaranteed.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald have said in recent interviews the Seahawks could use one of their 10 draft picks on a quarterback.

“Yeah, I think so,” Macdonald said at the NFL league meetings on April 1 when asked if it is reasonable that they could still take a QB. “But my answer to that’s going to be like, yes, every year I think you’ve just got to be willing to take quarterback and we’ll see it’s going to be the right person with the right opportunity. And if it comes to life, then we will do it. If not, then we’ll be cool. Roll with the guys we got. And we’re really excited about those guys too. But yeah, I think that’s a possibility.”

Since then, it’s been reported that the Seahawks are expected to have Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Louisville’s Tyler Shough in for pre-draft visits. Teams are allowed to bring in 30 potential draftees for visits to their team facility. All visits must occur by Wednesday.

The Seahawks have rarely had more than three quarterbacks on the roster for long as it’s hard to get enough snaps in practice. That may be truer than ever this season as they’re installing another new offense under first-year coordinator Klint Kubiak.

So something may have to give soon. The are scheduled to begin their voluntary offseason program on April 22.

For Lock the return to Seattle marks another chance to revive his career.

He was traded to the Seahawks after three years in Denver, where he went 8-13 as a starter after arriving as the 42nd overall pick out of Missouri in 2019.

He re-signed with the Seahawks in 2023 despite knowing he’d be the backup to Smith, saying he liked the atmosphere in Seattle and wanted play another year in the same offensive system, something he has rarely done in his NFL career.

With Smith remaining entrenched as the starter heading into the 2024 offseason, Lock decided to try to find a better opportunity to play, signing a one-year, $5 million deal with the Giants, whose starter, Daniel Jones, was coming off of a knee injury.

Jones recovered quickly enough to become the opening-day starter. Lock suffered a hip injury in the Giants’ first preseason game that sidelined him for much of the rest of training camp.

When the Giants decided to bench Jones in the wake of a 2-8 start, the Giants made a surprising decision to elevate No. 3 quarterback Tommy DeVito to starter, leaving Lock as the backup. Some wondered if the Giants didn’t want Lock to reach certain financial incentives in his contract with the season already a lost cause.

DeVito was injured, forcing the Giants to go to Lock to finish out the year. Lock went 1-4 in five starts last season, notably throwing for four touchdowns in a 45-33 win over Indianapolis on Dec. 29 that ended up costing them any chance at getting the first overall pick.

Lock made a return to Seattle with the Giants on Oct. 6 but didn’t play as Jones had his last moment of glory for New York, throwing two TDs in a 29-20 Giants’ win.

Lock was warmly greeted by many former teammates and staffers prior to that game, including Smith, who is gone and Lock is again a Seahawk.