The Seahawks quarterback competition remains undecided, but Pete Carroll did announce on Wednesday that Geno Smith will start Friday night's preseason finale against the Cowboys.
In an interview on Seattle Sports 710AM, Carroll clarified the plan for the two quarterbacks competing for the starting spot, saying Smith will start, but Drew Lock, who missed last week's preseason game due to COVID-19, will get the bulk of the playing time.
"(Smith) is going to start this game," Carroll said on the Mike Salk Show. "He's going to go in there first, he's going to play a little bit, then Drew is going to get to play most of the game for us—just give him a lot of playtime and leave him out there, let him play football, because of what we missed last week."
Heading into last week, the plan was for Lock to start Seattle's second preseason game after Smith had started the opener, but a positive COVID test for Lock derailed those plans. Now the Seahawks will try to get a long look at Lock to see if he can move past Smith on the depth chart before the regular-season opener on September 12.
"We're going to keep evaluating and keep watching and make the right decision for us," Carroll said. "We need as much information as possible, so that's what I'm going to try to create."
Asked if Smith starting the final preseason game was a sign he is in line to start against the Broncos in Week 1, Carroll said it was only the next step in the evaluation process of a still-undecided battle.
"This is the next step," he said. "Remember, it was going to be different going into this game by what we learned last week, so we didn't get that information. So I just need to gain information, I need to give Drew every chance to show who he is and what he's all about.
"Geno has not done anything to take a step backwards. He has been on it throughout. He has done a great job, so we're really excited that he has been able to be that for us. But the other side of it is that Drew is a very exciting football player too, and he's what keeps this thing alive. It's fun watching him practice and we'll see what he does."
