Although head coach Mike Macdonald has made it clear that Geno Smith is the starting quarterback heading into the upcoming season, Sam Howell has been getting in good reps during OTAs and has appreciated working with and competing alongside Smith.

"I think in this league to be able to play, you got to compete," Howell said "And that's what I'm willing to do no matter what the situation is, no matter who the starter is, if I'm the starter, I'm coming to compete every single day and I think Geno has been great. I've learned a lot from Geno and he's a great player. I have a lot of respect for him and everything he's been through in his career, just the way he's always battled and bounced back. So I'm excited to be here with Geno and learn from him and just compete with him and we battle every single day. We want to make each other better and at the end of the day we're on the same team and whoever's out there, we're going to support each other and try to help this team win."

Working with the Seahawks offense of course means working with offensive weapons like DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Tyler Lockett, Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet and Noah Fant.

"We have so many great players," Howell said. "Coach Grubb knows how to utilize his talent and he's shown that already. It's going to be a lot of fun to be a quarterback in this offense."

And while Smith and Howell have their pick at really good offensive talent already, there is one offensive player that could see an increased role. And that is Pharaoh Brown, the tight end who signed with the team during free agency. Brown has had stops with the Raiders, Browns, Texans and Patriots and has seen different roles with each team.

"Anything I can do, I'll do," Brown said. "I've been a fullback, I've been a wide tight end. I've been catching balls, special teams, so I feel like my role changes game to game."

With the Seahawks, Brown said the biggest difference in why he could see an increased role is because of how much money he's making.

"The more money they pay you, the more you get a role, right? So they paid me a little more money this time, so I'm getting a little better role. I went from a supporting actress to I got me a half a trailer right now."

And the kind of offense that offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is building is one where the quarterbacks "Come out here and command the show," Howell said.

"I just love how he can mix up tempo and really keep defenses on their heels," Howell said about Grubb. "That's not something you see a whole lot in the NFL… How aggressive he is and how much he wants to push the ball down the field. That's kind of similar to what I've done in the past and it's definitely the offense I want to play in."

When Howell thinks back to last season, Howell said he remembers what the atmosphere inside Lumen Field was like on a gameday.

"I just remember we got the ball down seven in the 4^th quarter and I've never heard a stadium that loud… So it'll definitely be fun to be on the other side of that."

And after reflecting, Howell also recognizes some of the areas he can improve on, and also how that experience helped him – especially with 17 NFL starts under his belt.

"I think I can play some smarter ball. I think there was at times where we were down big in some games, I was a little too aggressive just trying to make something happen, trying to get us back in the game, and that's why the turnovers are just way too high for what I wanted and what the team needed. So I think that's definitely something that I can take from last year is just playing better football, playing smarter football," Howell said. "I learned a lot first year starting. I could probably sit up here all day and talk about things that I've learned, but it was just great for me to get that experience and get those in game experiences. It was my second year, but really first year playing, so there's nothing like getting those live game reps, so there's definitely a lot of lessons to be learned and I think those things that I've learned will make me better the next time I get an opportunity."