COVID, Geno Smith winning the Seahawks’ starting job latest disappointments for Drew Lock

Drew Lock sat in the locker room among teammates and coaches rallying behind the man who just beat him out in his latest disappointment.

He’d learned he’d failed for the second time in two summers to win a NFL starting quarterback job. Last year it was for Denver. Friday night, Seattle.

Geno Smith, not him, had just been named the successor to Russell Wilson as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback.

Coach Pete Carroll told the entire team his decision of Smith over Lock in the visiting locker room of AT&T Stadium outside Dallas. It will be Smith, not Lock, starting against Lock’s former Broncos Sept. 12 in the season’s opening game at Lumen Field.

It’s perhaps Lock’s most bitter setback yet.

His flushed face suggested that. His words did, too.

“As a competitor, you’re always disappointed. And I was disappointed. You want to be out there. You want to be playing with those guys,” Lock said as Friday night turned to Saturday morning in Texas. “You want to be able to step on the field and show you can do it.

“Yeah, you’re disappointed.

“But now it’s my job to have his back and be the best teammate I can be. I need to come out everyday and find ways to make this team better and make myself better. I have to strive to get better every single day.

“I know I won’t be taking the reps, but there’s a lot of ways you can get better. I learned a lot about what to do last year in this situation and how to be ready for any chance that I get.”

He also needs better luck.

Drew Lock’s rocky career

Lock had a thumb injury ruin his season as Denver’s starter as a rookie in 2019. He had the Broncos change offensive coordinators and systems after he went 4-1 to end his first season.

He injured his shoulder early in Week 2 of the 2020 season. He threw a league-high 15 interceptions that year.

In 2021, Lock lost his Denver job for good. The Broncos acquired veteran Teddy Bridgewater, and that was that for Lock there.

He was getting an entire week to start in practices for the first time for Seattle, and a preseason game, against Chicago. The first practice he was the starter over Smith, he became seriously ill. He dragged himself off the field. The Seahawks canceled his post-practice drills with receivers DK Metcalf and Will Dissly.

He tested positive for COVID-19 that day. A five-day quarantine per NFL protocol and CDC guidelines ended his starting week before it got going.

“It kicked my butt,” he said, saying it was worse than the previous time he had the coronavirus and felt only a headache.

Upon his return last weekend, he and Smith alternated series with the starting offense for the first time.

Then came the team’s preseason finale at Dallas Friday night. It was the game that convinced Carroll to pick Smith.

“There’s three throws that I want back,” Lock said after he produced 23 points in 10 drives of the Seahawks’ 27-26 loss at Dallas.

Two of his three interceptions against the Cowboys were the fault of his receivers.

Dee Eskridge did not come back to Lock’s late throw to him outside in the first quarter; the Cowboys cornerback was more aggressive to the ball and wanted it more than Eskridge did. In the third quarter, Lock fired a dart onto the hands of Aaron Fuller. Fuller stumbled on his deep in route as the ball arrived. He tipped the ball high over and beyond him into the arms of a Dallas defensive back for a gift turnover.

In between, Lock threw a ghastly pass outside short when a Cowboys cornerback was sitting in the tight zone coverage, standing in front of Lock’s intended receiver, Penny Hart. That was an inexcusable interception.

Pete Carroll’s reason for Geno Smith

Lock committed four turnovers in two games this Seahawks preseason, to Smith’s none in three starts.

“It’s a huge statement, taking care of the football,” Carroll said. “We’ve been one of the best teams in the last number of years in the NFL (with Wilson) in taking care of the football. It’s really hard to take it away from us.

“The decision-making goes along with that. Treasuring that football, also. ...

“It’s really hard to win when the ball is flying in their hands. We’ve got to do a better job. And we’ve got to help, too, when the ball gets deflected.”

Much like his three spotty seasons going 8-13 for Denver, Lock was also brilliant at times. His next pass after the interception intended for Eskridge was a beautiful throw for a touchdown. He lofted the long ball perfectly over the defender’s arms into Hart’s at the goal line to put Seattle ahead 10-0.

Lock could have had two touchdown passes. Hart has to be stronger on the ball with his hands than he was on Lock’s accurate throw into the end zone. A desperate swipe by Dallas cornerback DaRon Bland got the ball free too easily for an incomplete pass instead.

Carroll’s decision is not the end of the competition. Smith’s nine-year NFL career — 13-21 as a starter with 34 touchdowns against 37 interceptions in the league — suggests the Seahawks could be faced with another decision this fall on whether to stay with the 31-year-old veteran, Wilson’s backup the previous three Seattle seasons.

Carroll didn’t discard Lock as useless.

“I don’t have any question that he can play,” the coach said. “He’s got all the athleticism. He’s got arm strength. He’s got talent. He’s got creativity, all of that. I think he’s going to be a fantastic football player. Soon.

“So it’s just a matter of he just didn’t quite have enough time to beat out a guy who knew exactly what he was doing and who just stayed at it and really just won the job because of his consistency and, really, his performance.”

Both Lock and Smith are under contract for only 2022. The Seahawks’ longer-term plan since trading Wilson is to have a quarterback for years coming out of the 2023 draft. Seattle has four picks in the first two rounds from the Wilson trade, in a draft scouts see as loaded with NFL-ready quarterbacks.

“I’ll do what I can to make this team better every day, and myself, and Geno,” Lock said. “This is a team sport. There’s going to be 11 guys out there … but there’s a lot that goes on during the week to win a football game.

“No, regardless of the message from anyone, me, personally, I can’t treat it as an end. That’s just a dark big hole you can get yourself into. That’s the exact opposite of what I’m going to do. That’s the last thing I’m going to do for myself. That’s the last thing I’m going to do for this team.”