There was some Tweet saying that John Schneider was at Texas Tech’s Pro Day, ostensibly to look at their quarterback who’s coming out in this year’s draft (but, I would think, more likely to look at other players). With the Seahawks, there’s been a lot of non-stories being spread around (more per capita than the average team, if I have anything to say about it), between Beastmode forcing a trade to the Raiders, and the Seahawks supposedly soliciting offers to trade away Richard Sherman; it’s all a bunch of media-created nonsense to generate clicks, pageviews, and hours of sports radio content.
YOU PEOPLE ARE SHAMELESS HUMPS!
Anyway, now there’s that Tweet, and it makes it sound like the Seahawks are in the market for selecting a quarterback high in the draft, with the intended effect of Seahawks fans speculating on Russell Wilson’s future with the team.
Obviously, the Seahawks aren’t getting rid of Russell Wilson, so let’s just put that to bed right now. It’s probably like I said above, there’s probably some low-rated draft prospect on Texas Tech the Seahawks are getting a closer look at, nothing more.
But, the more I thought about it, the more I started to wonder: SHOULD the Seahawks look to fill their backup quarterback role with someone other than an undrafted rookie who recently was involved in a drunken driving collision and an arrest? Even if Trevone Boykin was a model citizen, does it make sense to run him out there again as our #2?
2016 should’ve opened up PLENTY of eyes in that Seahawks organization with all that went down. Specifically, the quality of the offensive line, and the byproduct of Russell Wilson being hobbled for more than half the season. Hey, fancy that, the kid’s actually human! (sort of) Russell Wilson has ankles rolled up on and knees bending the wrong way just like the rest of us! (that made more sense in my head) I’m not saying he’s going to be the next Ben Roethlisberger, who’s injured every year without fail, but I will say a couple things:
- After 4 full seasons where Wilson never missed even a practice rep, he had something of a year from hell and we got to see what this offense looks like with him at 50% or worse; so just imagine what it would look like with him totally sidelined.
- When you start sustaining injuries like that to your knees and ankles, you don’t see your foot speed increase over time. You tend to get a lot slower as you age; that shit adds up! At some point, Wilson’s legs will be as worthless as Peyton Manning’s, and at that time, will he still be as effective a leader of this offense?
Before 2016, we didn’t have to worry about this shit, because we had Tarvaris Jackson and we all agreed that he was the kind of quality backup this team needed in the event where Wilson might go down. But, he was always coming back on 1-year deals (when the rest of the league turned its collective backs to him), and the Seahawks really needed something more permanent in its backup. Someone who could grow with Wilson, build value in the pre-season, and maybe generate draft picks in trade should he turn into a Jimmy Garoppolo-type. More than anything, we need someone comfortable in our system and someone with actual NFL talent, for when disaster does strike (and believe you me, it will strike, eventually).
Trevone Boykin is almost certainly not that guy. At no point would I have ever felt comfortable with him leading this team last year, and I highly doubt he’s going to make some magical jump between Year 1 and Year 2. He’s a third stringer at best, and should probably be nothing more than camp fodder before he gives up the ghost and signs with the CFL. And I’m NOT saying that just because he got arrested recently (though, that certainly doesn’t help). It’s like what Joe Thomas was saying about Colin Kaepernick: NFL teams don’t want any sort of distraction coming from their backup quarterbacks (and, make no mistake, Kaepernick IS a backup quarterback).
Speaking of, there’s been a lot of chatter among Seahawks fans saying they desperately want the team to sign Kaep to be Wilson’s backup. I dunno. I guess I understand the argument – Wilson is a mobile quarterback; Kaepernick’s mobility is as good as it gets – but they’re really two VERY different players. As the Seahawks start transitioning towards a precision-passing attack – mostly to compensate for a crappy O-Line, but also to help enhance Wilson’s pocket-passing game – Kaepernick has terrible timing, and a big ol’ wind-up in his throws. Granted, he throws really fucking hard, but so does Jay Cutler, and I don’t see people clamoring for the Seahawks to sign him! Maybe, if Wilson got hurt and Kaepernick went in, as long as the Seahawks shifted the offense back to one of a heavy rushing load, with lots and lots of zone read, I’d be okay with it.
Like I said, I dunno. I’ve been so conditioned to hate the 49ers for so long, it’s hard to flip that script and start liking or wanting a guy like Kaepernick on my team. There’s also the legitimate concern that he’s been VERY terrible for a while now, but is it a chicken/egg thing? Like, yeah, he’s been terrible, but so has the entire 49ers organization from the top down. Is he terrible because everyone around him is terrible? I mean, it’s really a helluva regression from where he was, at one point considered one of the league’s very best young quarterbacks. It can’t ALL be due to the league just figuring him out and Jim Harbaugh leaving, can it?
I’ll just say this and let it be done: I’m ready to move on from Trevone Boykin. I’m ready for a semi-competent backup, because I truly fear for Russell Wilson’s safety behind this O-Line. If that means Kaepernick, or that Texas Tech quarterback, or someone else I haven’t mentioned today, I’m all for it.