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Seahawks evaluating backup QB options

Boykin taking most of 2nd team reps at training camp

By CURTIS CRABTREE, Associated Press

Published: August 5, 2016, 5:28pm

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson throws during the team's NFL football training camp Saturday, July 30, 2016, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

RENTON — For the first time since Russell Wilson assumed the starting quarterback job in 2012, the Seattle Seahawks don’t have a veteran on the roster to serve as his backup.

Undrafted rookie free agent Trevone Boykin and 2015 undrafted free agent Jake Heaps are the only other two quarterbacks on the roster. The shared NFL experience between the two amounts to precisely one preseason game and one passing attempt, both coming from Heaps last year with the New York Jets.

General manager John Schneider said he believes Boykin would have been drafted between the third and fifth rounds of the NFL draft if not for an arrest prior to the Alamo Bowl in December. Instead, Boykin went undrafted and signed with Seattle in May.

“He can do the same things that we try to do with (Russell Wilson),” head coach Pete Carroll said. “So now it is just a long journey to get him right in a lot of areas. He has got the makeup, it appears, and I am really excited about him.”

Boykin has taken the majority of second-team reps throughout training camp with Heaps working with the third team. Carroll has touted Boykin’s similarities to Wilson as an intriguing opportunity for the team. Boykin as a backup would give Seattle the luxury of not having to alter its offense should something happen to Wilson.

While Carroll said he can picture moving forward without a veteran option, Schneider said the Seahawks will keep looking at what players may be available.

“I like all our players, I’m just never really one of those guys that’s like, ‘Yeah, we got this. We got this.’ You know what I mean?” Schneider said. “Pete’s job is to instill confidence in people and he does a great job. It’s one of his best attributes, making everybody feel great about themselves and instilling confidence in their abilities. My job is to be forward-thinking and our staff … to be ready for what’s coming next if it doesn’t work out.”

Boykin said he is now comfortable taking snaps from center after working out of the shotgun for the majority of his tenure at TCU. He also feels his understanding of the playbook is coming along well.

“I’m getting it all down,” Boykin said. “The hardest thing for me right now is just calling protections. But as far as concepts and saying the plays in the huddle I’ve gotten 10 times better than I was when I first started.”

Carroll has been bullish about the performances of Boykin and Heaps through a week of training camp.

“(Boykin) is always able to make things happen and in a very similar fashion as Russell did,” Carroll said. “We’re very confident that he has a chance to help us. Let me tell you though, you didn’t ask about him, but Jake Heaps is lighting it up, he is having a great camp, so that is a very good position for us obviously right now.”

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