Commanders trade Sam Howell to Seahawks as 2024 NFL Draft looms

Sam Howell is on the move. 

The quarterback has been dealt along with two draft picks to the Seahawks, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday. 

The pick swap sends the Commanders’ fourth-round pick (No. 102) and sixth-rounder (No. 179) — along with Howell — to the Seahawks in exchange for their third- (No. 78) and fifth-round (No. 152) picks.

The move gives Seattle a quarterback they need after Drew Lock signed with the Giants at the onset of free agency, and Howell has been someone that Seattle has long had its eye on, according to Schefter. 

Howell, who started for Washington last season, showed flashes of brilliance but also struggled behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. 

The 23-year-old threw for 3,946 yards and 21 touchdowns with a league-leading 612 pass attempts but also racked up an NFL-worst 21 interceptions. 

Howell will get a chance to begin anew in the Pacific Northwest and compete with Geno Smith for the starting job.

Smith is the Seahawks’ incumbent, but his 2023 campaign failed to match the surprising 2022 success that earned him a new three-year contract last spring.

That leaves two years left on Smith’s contract but gives them a low-risk, high-reward player in Howell if Smith struggles again. 

Howell’s future in Washington had started to come into question after the Commanders signed veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota earlier in the week. 

The Commanders also own the No. 2 overall pick in the draft next month and will likely look for their next franchise quarterback there. 

Howell was in his second season with the Commanders in 2023, a campaign in which they went 4-13 and resulted in the firing of head coach Ron Rivera. 

Former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was hired to replace Rivera as the team’s next head coach.