There is no mystery who will start at quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks this September. Russell Wilson, who briefly became the highest-paid player in the league this offseason, will look to lead Seattle to yet another playoff berth.
The big mystery in Seattle is who will back Wilson up next year. The battle is currently between veterans Geno Smith and Paxton Lynch.
What may be a related question is who will start at quarterback for the yet-unnamed XFL Seattle franchise, whose season will begin the week after the Super Bowl and who will play their home games at CenturyLink Field.
The answer may have a lot to do with the Seahawks QB question, as whoever doesn’t win the backup job behind Wilson could end up starting in Seattle, just in a different league.
Of course, there are plenty of other options to start for Seattle’s XFL team as well. Here are three options for where the answer could come from:
Paxton Lynch or Geno Smith
XFL commissioner Oliver Luck made it very clear they are targeting both Lynch and Smith for a starting job in the XFL, depending which one doesn’t end up backing up Wilson.
“We’re watching the backup quarterback camp battles,” Luck said. “One of these guys is going to get cut. There’s a bunch of those going on. We might not get all of those guys, the ‘loser’ of those, but a Geno or Paxton is not going to end up on a practice squad. There are a bunch of three-, four- [and] five-year guys that are in that boat. They’ve been on rosters, practice squad, been yo-yo’d two years. They need to play, and that’s my argument to them, that it’s very doable here.”
Right now it is anyone’s guess which veteran quarterback will get cut from the Seahawks, although coach Pete Carroll did say that Lynch has some work to do to learn the system, which hints at Smith being a little ahead in the competition.
However, training camp has not even started, and there is plenty of time for Lynch to pull ahead and win the job outright.
This will be a fun position battle to watch, not just for Seahawks fans but for fans of the new XFL team as well, as it could be a glimpse of who will be leading that team come February.
Keith Price
Former University of Washington quarterback Keith Price was perhaps the most notable participant at the XFL “Summer Showcase” tryout in Seattle last month, where over 100 players showed up to take part in drills and workouts as a way to try out for each of the eight teams in the league.
Price, 28, was signed by the Seahawks in 2014 after an accomplished career at the University of Washington. He was cut that summer and spent the next three years in the Canadian Football League, appearing in 35 games and completing 33 passes for three touchdowns.
He spent last season with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football, appearing in three games and starting one before they abruptly folded.
Now, he’ll look to get another chance at professional football in the XFL, and getting to play in his college town of Seattle would be a great opportunity for him and for the thousands of UW fans who remember him fondly.
Johnny Manziel
As of now, it is still unclear if former star quarterback Johnny Manziel will even be allowed to participate in the XFL, as league owner Vince McMahon made it very clear that players with criminal records won’t be allowed in his league.
Manziel starred at Texas A&M and was drafted by the Browns before a series of arrests and substance abuse issues ended his NFL career after just two seasons. There have been conflicting reports about his eligibility for the fledgling XFL however, and he himself tweeted at McMahon in an attempt to make himself eligible to compete.
Manziel would become the most well-known player in the entire league if he were eligible. Whether Seattle coach Jim Zorn would pursue Manziel remains to be seen.
However, the franchise is either going to prioritize winning games or putting fans in seats, and Manziel is the kind of player who would help do both.
