The Seahawks re-signed quarterback Drew Lock, giving them continuity at quarterback having also signed Geno Smith to a contract extension earlier this month.

For Lock, returning to Seattle was an easy decision following his first season with the Seahawks.

"They're building something here, it's really, really cool, and I really want to be a part of it," Lock said after signing Monday afternoon. "This is a special place. There was everything drawing me back here. The city. Pete (Carroll) and John (Schneider) have just created a place that is unique. It's a place I couldn't walk away from without spending a little more time here."

Lock, a former second-round pick out of Missouri, spent his first three seasons in Denver before joining the Seahawks last year as part of the trade that sent Russell Wilson to the Broncos. Lock competed for the starting job with Smith, who went on to earn the starting spot on his way to Pro Bowl and Comeback Player of the Year honors.

Lock had the misfortune to come down with COVID-19 during the preseason, hindering his chances at winning the starting job, and while he never appeared in a regular-season game in 2022, he still made a strong impression on coaches and teammates during his first year in Seattle.

"What an awesome guy," general manager John Schneider said Thursday on Seattle Sports after the Seahawks and Lock agreed to terms on a deal. "Everything he's been through—last year we talked about it a bunch. Coming here, competing with Geno, getting COVID, really bad timing for him. (Preseason) Game 2 was going to be his game against Chicago, then he got really sick, then he still didn't have his legs against Dallas. So I'm just really excited. Really happy for him.

"He was great. Both of those guys were awesome with pushing each other, and the support that they showed."

In three seasons with the Broncos, Lock started 21 games, completing 59.3 percent of his passes for 4,740 yards, 25 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Despite not playing in the regular season in 2022, Lock feels like he finished the year as a better quarterback than he was when he arrived in Seattle.

"I feel like I learned more in this last year. I didn't play, but I learned so much from being with Shane (Waldron), being with Pete, hearing how they talk football, and situation football, and how to handle a locker room. Everything those guys taught me last year, again, I'm excited to be able to come back and be here for another year and learn more from them."

As a player who has had his own ups and downs early in his career, Lock not only did a lot of learning last season, he also found some inspiration in the success Smith had in what was his first season as a starter in eight years.

"It was awesome," Lock said of seeing Smith's Pro-Bowl season up close. "It's an example I hope to be able to follow and live up to, hopefully create a story like that of my own. What an awesome guy to sit behind and learn behind and watch that unfold and be inspired by. Because not everybody gets to come into the league and have a picture-perfect first couple of years—Super Bowl, be the starter, sign a long-term deal. Not everybody gets that, and it's a testament to him to be able to keep sticking to it, and it's something I'm going to carry with me for the rest of my career as long as I get to play."