Seattle Seahawks trading for Commanders QB Sam Howell

LANDOVER, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Sam Howell #14 of the Washington Commanders attempts a pass during the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at FedExField on September 10, 2023 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Seattle Seahawks are acquiring quarterback Sam Howell in a trade with the Washington Commanders in a swap of draft picks, a source confirmed to FOX 13 Seattle on Thursday.

Seattle will send a third-round pick (No. 78 overall) and a fifth-round pick (No. 152) to Washington in exchange for Howell, a fourth-round pick (No. 102) and a sixth-round pick (No. 179). 

Essentially, the Seahawks are moving back 24 picks and 27 picks with their two selections to add someone who will at least be the backup to Geno Smith this fall.

The deal was first reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

Howell – a fifth-round draft pick in 2022 – started all 17 games for Washington last season. Howell passed for 3,946 yards with 21 touchdowns and a league-high 21 interceptions while being sacked a league-high 65 times. Howell completed 63.4 percent of his passes with a league-high 612 pass attempts.

Howell played quite well in Seattle last year in a 29-26 loss to the Seahawks. Howell completed 29-of-44 passes for 312 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Howell is under contact for two more years with cap hits of around $1.1 million a season, per OverTheCap.com. Howell comes in presumably to serve as the backup to Geno Smith with the chance to develop more in a new organization.

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