RENTON — Drew Lock will get a significant amount of playing time in Seattle’s final preseason game and still has a chance to win the Seahawks’ starting quarterback job, coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday.
Carroll did not say whether it would be Lock or Geno Smith starting against the Cowboys on Friday. They are competing for the starting job to replace Russell Wilson following his trade to Denver in the offseason and Smith has continually been noted as the leader in the competition.
Seattle’s plan for splitting playing time between the pair was thrown out of whack after Lock missed most of last week after testing positive for COVID-19. His workload against the Cowboys depends on how well Lock is able to handle the week of preparation.
“Drew needs to play a lot of football because he missed the game. So that’s the main thing (to) get done on this weekend,” Carroll said.
Lock was scheduled to start last Thursday’s second preseason game against Chicago, but tested positive for COVID-19 two days before the game. He returned to practice on Sunday and Monday’s practice was a lighter session for the Seahawks.
Carroll called the game against the Cowboys a “makeup deal,” for Lock in highlighting the importance of the final preseason contest. Carroll referenced the initial timeline he had for making a decision on who would be Seattle’s starting quarterback was altered after Lock’s illness.
“I had a set thought on what we would do with the timeline, but that got disrupted,” Carroll said. “And so we’re going to use all the time we need.”
That could mean even more evaluation time following the preseason finale. The Seahawks will have 17 days between the game in Dallas and the season opener on Sept. 12 against Denver and their former franchise QB.
While a decision seems likely before game week, Seattle could use those final practices next week.
“I’m not closing the book on anybody competing for their spots,” Carroll said. “We have two enormous weeks coming up: the finish of this one, next week is a huge week for us and then we come back with another full week and an extra day. So we got a lot of time here to work it out — on my schedule. Maybe you’re not feeling that schedule but on my schedule I’m OK.”
Notes
Carroll expects CB Artie Burns (groin) and WR Dee Eskridge (hamstring) are both expected to play against Dallas should they make it through the week of practice. … The status of RB Ken Walker III returning for the opener remains unknown. Walker had surgery to repair a hernia. “He’s doing fine, but how many weeks is it going to take, I don’t know that and then the doctors aren’t telling us either. So I think a lot is gonna have to do with him.” … CB Tre Brown (knee) won’t be ready for the start of the season, Carroll said. Brown suffered a left patellar tendon injury midway through last season.
