Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Geno Smith had surgery to remove a cyst in his knee, forcing the team to go out and sign a fourth quarterback to serve as a camp body while Smith recovered.
24-year-old J.T. Barrett ended up being that fourth quarterback, and he’s slowly starting to see more opportunities at practice.
However, Smith returned to practice on Friday and has a chance to play in Sunday’s preseason contest against the Vikings in Minnesota.
“Geno did get back on the practice field today,” coach Pete Carroll commented on Friday. “This is a remarkable recovery already, just to get back on the field today. We’ll see. We are going to do one day at a time, see where he is.”
If Smith is able to go, the team will likely have Smith and fellow backup Paxton Lynch play the majority of the game, with starter Russell Wilson handling a few snaps at the beginning.
That could leave Barrett on the sideline for the entirety of the game.
“If we could, yeah, we’ll see what happens,” Carroll commented about getting Barrett out onto the field. “That’s not the top priority right now, he’s just getting started with us.”
Barrett joined the Saints after an accomplished career at Ohio State University. He spent the last year and a half bouncing on and off their practice squad, and was recently released before Seattle snatched him up.
It already seemed like a longshot that he would usurp both Smith and Lynch to win Seattle’s backup quarterback job, and the fact that Smith already returned pretty much seals the deal for Barrett – barring another injury.
