Geno Smith Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll announced after Friday night’s preseason finale that QB age Geno Smith will open the regular season as the starter. We’d bet on Drew Lock also getting some starting time at some point this year, and neither looks especially interesting for fantasy football purposes. But Smith should be the guy if you’re grabbing a Seattle QB later in superflex or 2-QB drafts.

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN in Seattle on Wednesday that QB Geno Smith will start the preseason finale and that Drew Lock will play "a lot." Lock was reportedly on track to start the previous exhibition before coming down with COVID. Carroll added that Smith starting this contest doesn't necessarily mean he'll start the regular-season opener. But you'd think the coach would want to see Lock open at least 1 preseason contest with the 1st team before handing him the Week 1 reigns. We'll bet on Smith starting the opener. We also wouldn't bet on either guy starting every game this season. We'll see how these final 2 weeks play out.

Seahawks QB Drew Lock returned to practice Sunday after a bout with COVID. He has a shot to start the team's final preseason contest. Lock had been in line to start the previous exhibition and seemed to be pulling ahead of Geno Smith in the competition before this setback. We'll see where this goes now that he's back.

Seahawks QB Drew Lock tested positive for COVID. He'll be out at least the next 5 days, which means he'll miss Seattle's 2nd preseason game. Lock seemed to be making up ground on QB Geno Smith, getting 1st-team reps in Tuesday's practice. But this is an obvious setback. Smith remains the favorite to start Week 1, although Lock is a good bet to also make starts this season.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Seahawks HC Pete Carroll announced QB Geno Smith as his starter for Saturday's preseason opener at Pittsburgh. Smith has remained atop the depth chart throughout the offseason and training camp. But it also sounds like the competition is far from done. “We’ll see what happens,” Carroll said Thursday, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. “There’s a lot of things that can happen when we go out there. We’ve just got to wait and see and we’ll put it together. We’d love to see the guys execute, and they’ve done really well on the practice field. We’d love to see a carry-over. But at the quarterback position, there are opportunities and if there are opportunities how do they seize them? Do they come through and make the play, make the big throw in the red zone or if it’s third down or whatever it is. We just have to wait and see.” We're most interested to see if either QB can look good enough to ease any concerns over the fantasy football outlooks for WRs D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and TE Noah Fant.

Seahawks HC Pete Caroll was back with the team after a bout with COVID, and he had a Friday update on the QB competition: "Geno [Smith] continues to be on top. He's ahead. He's been in the lead for all of the obvious reasons and he's holding on to it and doing a really good job of battling." Carroll did add that there's still a good bit of time left in the evaluation process. "We need reps, we need turns to see more situations to really find any reason to see a difference between the guys," he said, according to The Seattle Times. So we won't consider it decided yet, but it does seem we need to consider Smith the front-runner at this point. His primary advantage is having been with the Seahawks since 2019. For fantasy football purposes, the winner of this battle only matters in superflex, 2-QB and DFS formats.

Seahawks QB Geno Smith opened training camp with the 1st-team offense, right where he was in the spring. “Geno is in the lead. He’s ahead and he ain’t looking back,” HC Pete Carroll said. “He’s going for it. Drew [Lock] is not going to take a back seat. Something is going to happen.” What's "going to happen" probably won't be pretty. We're still expecting both of these guys to make starts this season. It's a situation to avoid in fantasy drafts.

Let's start with HC Pete Carroll's full quote on the Geno Smith-Drew Lock competition after Thursday's practice (per Liz Matthews of Seahawks Wire: “Geno’s still ahead, you can tell that, but it’s not going to be too much for Drew to be caught up. By the time we get through camp he’ll be there. He’s really bright. It makes sense to him. He’s really sharp in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage and all of that. So it’s just time that he needs, and there’s nothing we can do but gain some more of that.” You could easily read that and come away with the headline that Smith is the leader in the race for the starting gig. It sure seems like Carroll is expecting (hoping?) Lock to catch up and potentially overtake him, though. Carroll added that "it's gonna be a real battle." It's not surprising that the incumbent stands ahead at this early stage. We'd still bet Lock between them as the Week 1 starter, though. And we also still wouldn't rule out the possibility of the team adding someone else, such as Baker Mayfield.

Seahawks OC Shane Waldron and HC Pete Carroll have both recently said that QB Geno Smith opens offseason workouts as the leader at QB. “Right now, Geno has done such a good job of carrying over (the offensive principles from 2021). He already had a head start over Drew right there,” Waldron told KJR radio this week. That seemed to echo Carroll's sentiment that Smith "automatically" starts ahead of Drew Lock. Waldron added, "We have a long way to go to see where this competition (goes).” For now, the fantasy football takeaway is that there's a competition to replace Russell Wilson in Seattle. It's not necessarily Lock's job.

The Athletic's Michael-Shawn Dugar projects Geno Smith as Seattle's starting QB in his post-draft depth chart, with Drew Lock as the #2. "But this will be an open competition that may not see a winner until the third and final preseason game," Dugar concedes. The Seahawks will have arguably the worst QB play in the NFL regardless of who's under center this season, barring a trade for someone like Baker Mayfield or Jimmy Garoppolo. Neither Smith nor Lock is worth a pick in early best-ball drafts.

Per Ian Rapoport, the Seahawks have re-signed QB Geno Smith to a 1-year deal worth $7 million. It’s a nice sum for Smith, who Rapoport says has “a chance to push for starter reps and more" this summer. Of course, Seattle added Drew Lock last month, and there’s no question that they could spend an early pick on a rookie passer. The Seahawks hold 8 picks, with 3 in the top-41.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson tweeted Monday that the pin is out of his injured right middle finger. He said: "No more pin. Time to Win." That should mean the QB is on track to play Week 10, after Seattle's bye. We'll certainly watch to confirm.

The Seahawks placed QB Russell Wilson (finger) on IR. That knocks him out for at least the next 3 games. Seattle then has a Week 9 bye, so Week 10 is the earliest Wilson could return. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport recently called a Week 10 return the "best-case scenario" for Wilson. QB Geno Smith is in line to start the next 3 games vs. Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Jacksonville.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson had surgery Friday on the right middle finger he injured in Thursday night's loss to the Rams. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Wilson needed screws to stabilize the finger and that his return timetable is "roughly 6 weeks." We'll certainly watch for updates along the way, but this is tough news for everyone in the Seattle passing game. Geno Smith played decently in relief of Wilson on Thursday night, completing 10 of 17 passes (58.8%) for 131 yards, 1 TD and an INT -- plus 3-23 rushing. But he's obviously a far cry from the efficiency of Wilson. Week 6 brings a visit to Pittsburgh, which has played soft in pass coverage early this season. Then comes a home date with New Orleans, which Football Outsiders rates 3rd in overall defensive DVOA; 6th against the pass. Seattle also becomes a strong matchup or team defenses while Wilson is out.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson has yet to miss a start through 9+ NFL seasons. But NFL Network's Ian Rapoport believes that streak is "in some doubt" after Wilson hurt his right middle finger in Thursday night's loss to the Rams. HC Pete Carroll described Wilson's injury as a "bad sprain" after the game and wouldn't put a timeline on Wilson's return. Wilson is set for more testing on Friday, and surgery hasn't been ruled out, per Rapoport. We'll let you know as soon as we know more. Geno Smith would step in as Seattle's starter if Wilson misses time.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson injured the middle finger on his right (throwing) hand in the 3rd quarter of Thursday night's game vs. the Rams. Wilson got it taped up and returned for the next possession. But it was QB Geno Smith under center the next time Seattle took the field. We'll update Wilson's status when we know more.

The Giants have signed QB Geno Smith, per the New York Post's Brian Costello. Not surprisingly, Smith didn't garner much (any?) interest as a starter. So he'll settle for a backup gig behind 36-year-old Eli Manning. If Smith makes a good impression with his new club, perhaps he'll be considered as Manning's eventual successor. That seems like a long shot, though.

Jets QBs Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith are both uncertain for Sunday's game against the Jaguars.  Fitzpatrick suffered ligament damage in his left hand in yesterday's loss to the Raiders and will need surgery at some point, according to HC Todd Bowles.  But it sounds like he'll put off that surgery for now.  Bowles labeled Fitzpatrick day-to-day.  Smith, meanwhile, is dealing with a "big bruise" on his left shoulder, per Bowles.  There's no structural damage to the non-throwing wing.  Bowles said that the team is exploring trade options for a QB.  Rookie Bryce Petty is the only healthy QB on the roster right now.