Seahawks: Ranking 6 potential quarterback trade targets in 2022
The Seattle Seahawks will most likely enter the 2022 season with Geno Smith and Drew Lock at the top of their quarterback depth chart. While that won’t get a lot of fans excited, they both have upside in their own unique ways. Smith has experience running Seattle’s offense, while Lock has superior athleticism and a bigger hose of an arm.
While we expect one of them to be starting Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, it’s impossible to rule out the team acquiring another QB before that time. Here are the six-best quarterbacks around the NFL who might be available via trade.
Jared Goff - Lions
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Pros: If nothing else, Goff at least KnOwS tHe SyStEm from his time playing with the Los Angeles Rams, who run a very similar offensive scheme to Shane Waldron’s. Goff also may be getting better with age, as he managed a respectable 19/8 touchdown to interception ratio last year with the Lions.
Cons: Even if he looked better last season he’s still Jared Goff – and few fanbases know the flaws in his game better than Seattle’s. Goff is essentially a jugs machine – he can throw accurately to one spot on the field, but he has almost no ability to improvise whatsoever, which makes him extremely turnover prone and vulnerable against pressure. In 83 career games in the NFL, Goff has thrown 63 interceptions to go with 51 fumbles. He also has an ugly contract with cap hits over $30 million each of the next three years.
Daniel Jones - Giants
John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
Pros: Daniel Jones is essentially a more athletic and younger version of Jared Goff. He has a good bit more arm strength plus plenty of speed to spare as a rusher once he gets into space. Jones has managed 1,000 rushing yards and five touchdowns on just 172 career carries (5.8 yards per attempt). The Giants didn’t pick up his fifth-year option, so the remainder of his contract is only for one year with under $4 million in guaranteed money.
Cons: Jones’ game also has many of the same flaws as Goff’s. He is erratic at best in the pocket and consistently struggles reading the field. In 38 games he’s thrown 29 interceptions and has also fumbled 36 times.
Jordan Love - Packers
Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
Pros: If nothing else, Jordan Love is young (he’s 24 years old) and he still has two seasons left on his rookie contract. His cap number for this year is around $3.37 million and he’ll cost another $3.94 million next season.
Cons: There’s just not much to go on as far as Love’s actual potential on the field. It never made much sense for Green Bay to draft him given who their starter is, so we haven’t had a chance to see Love play much in live-game situations. How he performs during the Packers’ three preseason games in August may have a huge impact on his potential trade value.
Jimmy Garoppolo - 49ers
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Pros: Like Jared Goff, Jimmy Garoppolo also kNoWs tHe SyStEm, as Kyle Shanahan’s wide zone heavy play action scheme is at heart the same as Seattle’s. Garoppolo has more arm talent than most of the QBs on this list, though and has proven he can play well enough to “lead” a team with a stacked group of skill players and a strong defense deep into the playoffs.
Cons: As expected, Goff’s game fell off pretty dramatically when he didn’t have the genius of Sean McVay’s playcalling propping him up. It would not come as a surprise if the same thing happened to Garoppolo once he leaves San Francisco. Also, Garoppolo’s contract is a total obscenity, so it makes no sense whatsoever for any team to trade for him. If the 49ers release him the Seahawks should be interested, though.
Baker Mayfield - Browns
Jeff Lange via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Pros: When Baker Mayfield is healthy and in rhythm with his receivers he’s one of the better quarterbacks in the sport. In a good year we’d rank him somewhere around No. 12 or No. 13 among the league’s projected 32 starters. That would be a dramatic step up over what either Drew Lock or Geno Smith would offer as Seattle’s QB1 this year. Mayfield is one of the league’s best deep-ball throwers and his skillset would in theory mesh very well with what Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf bring to the table.
Cons: Unfortunately, you never know what you’re going to get from Mayfield from snap to snap, week to week and season to season. Like Garoppolo, he’s one of the NFL’s most inconsistent quarterbacks. While he probably has the highest ceiling in this group, he may also have the lowest floor. Injuries certainly played a role in his struggles, but Mayfield was arguably the worst starter in the league last season. Baker also has a fully-guaranteed contract ($18.58 million) for this year, so the Browns would either have to eat most of that salary or release him for Seattle to bite.
Gardner Minshew - Eagles
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Pros: Gardner Minshew might be the most low-risk, high-reward asset in the NFL. The Eagles got an absolute steal by acquiring him for a conditional sixth-round pick from the Jaguars. Minshew has demonstrated a flair for playmaking outside the pocket and has arguably done more with less than any other starting QB the last three years. He has a strong 41/12 touchdown to interception ratio and several advanced stats suggests that he may be a legitimate diamond in the rough. Minshew would also come relatively cheap with just a $2.54 million cap hit in 2022.
Cons: While what we have seen is promising like Jordan Love, there’s not a whole lot of tape to go on with Minshew, who has only started 22 games in his career so far. It’s entirely possible that over the course of a full season Minshew’s aggressive game would crash and burn. It’s also worth noting that Philly has also shown no interest in trading him as of yet.
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