With Geno Smith out injured, Sam Howell flashes his talent ... and his flaws (2024)

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks were without their starting quarterback for the second straight practice. Geno Smith watched the early portion of Thursday’s session in sweats and sneakers because of an injury sustained early in the week.

Smith is “working through a couple things from the other day,” head coach Mike Macdonald said after practice. “Will get some imaging tonight, and we’ll see.”

Smith did not attend practice Wednesday, a half-speed walk-through, due to what a team spokesperson described as issues with his knee and hip. On Thursday, Macdonald declined to specify the nature of Smith’s injury, but he did confirm it occurred Tuesday.

Smith got tangled up with a teammate Tuesday, fell to the ground and kept practicing without noticeable issues. It was unclear Thursday whether he had a brace or wrap on his knee. Smith is not expected to practice Friday, according to Macdonald.

Way off in the distance there is Geno Smith, chillin on the sideline watching practice. pic.twitter.com/VetxSRaLk4

— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) August 1, 2024

The Seahawks were also without outside linebackers Dre’Mont Jones (hamstring) and Darrell Taylor (lower body), cornerback Michael Jackson (undisclosed), center Olu Oluwatimi (tricep) and swing tackle George Fant, whose status was not discussed by Macdonald on Thursday. Oluwatimi is expected to return Friday, Macdonald said.

With Smith absent, Seattle has two quarterbacks available: Sam Howell and P.J. Walker. We’ll lead with their performance in these takeaways from practice, which was another day in pads.

Howell hot and cold

Howell performed like a backup Thursday. He made some good throws, most notably a pair of tight-window tosses on consecutive snaps to receiver DK Metcalf during a team period. The first throw was a back-shoulder ball that whizzed by cornerback Riq Woolen, and the second was a hole shot between the cornerback and the safety near the sideline. Metcalf dropped both passes. Howell also threw consecutive touchdown passes to Metcalf during a red zone period (more on those later).

But in the very next period, Howell overthrew a back-shoulder throw to receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and then had a late throw that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. He also took a sack during a third-down period when cornerback Devon Witherspoon came free off the edge, then had the ball stripped by outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu during a separate period.

Howell led the league in turnovers and sacks while throwing for nearly 4,000 yards in 2023, so his first real practice with the starters Thursday was more of what he put on tape last year.

Walker had his usual accuracy issues mixed with some nice throws, like the corner route he threw to receiver Cody White during that third-down period. He also hooked up with receiver Easop Winston Jr. for a touchdown in the back of the end zone during a red zone period and beat a blitz with a long ball to receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. for what would have been a touchdown of at least 60 yards.

But Walker was nearly intercepted by outside linebacker Derick Hall during a team period when he threw a ball behind receiver Dee Eskridge, and he was picked off by rookie cornerback D.J. James when he threw late against a blitz on a ball intended for receiver Dareke Young.

Busy day for Tre

Cornerback Tre Brown had the same sort of day as the quarterbacks in that he was on the wrong end of some bad plays and the star of some impressive highlights. He was beaten badly by Winston for a touchdown in one-on-ones, with the receiver creating nearly 15 yards of separation coming out of his break.

He was also out-jumped by Metcalf on both red zone touchdown throws from Howell. Howell put the ball up, and Metcalf used his height and size advantages to make the play. Additionally, Brown was flagged for defensive pass interference against Metcalf during a two-minute drill.

On the flip side, Brown was responsible for the only defensive score of camp when he jumped a comeback route Howell tried to throw to Metcalf. He caught it clean and returned it about 30 yards for a score on what was his first target after giving up back-to-back touchdowns.

With the offense and defense tied by the end of practice, Macdonald opted for a two-point play to decide it. The defense won the day thanks to Brown, who deflected the ball away from Metcalf in the end zone on a pass from Howell, ripped off his helmet and roared in celebration.

“It was great to see him make a play at the end,” Macdonald said. “Threw a fade a ball, and he made a great play.”

Blitz package

That third-down period doubled as a pressure package session. We’re limited in what we can report, but we’re starting to see why players talk up the versatility of Macdonald’s scheme. The defense was able to put players in different spots, change the picture after the snap and put pressure on the quarterbacks, not only in that drill but throughout practice. Witherspoon was very active Thursday.

However, that comes with the caveat that Seattle was without its starting quarterback, starting center and top two right tackles (Abraham Lucas remains on the PUP list following offseason knee surgery). Still, that was the first extended look at the wrinkles that make people confident Macdonald can replicate his situational success with the Ravens last season. Baltimore ranked seventh in third-down defense last season; Seattle was 30th.

Tough in the trenches

There’s no tackling to the ground in practice, so some plays must be taken with a grain of salt, but there was a stretch during a team period where the offensive line had a tough time blocking defensive tackles Jarran Reed and Leonard Williams. Williams stuffed a run by Kenneth Walker III in a short-yardage situation. Reed broke through the line and sacked Howell, and he swallowed up running back Kenny McIntosh to kill the drive.

A full season of Williams and Reed together, along with Nwosu on the edge, should make for a much better showing from the defensive line.

Highlight of the day: D.J. James

The rookie class has been quiet throughout camp, but James, a sixth-round pick out of Auburn, made a nice play Thursday when he jumped a short route during a team period and corralled a diving interception. Walker threw the ball late, which allowed the rookie to get a break on the pass, and the cornerback did a good job working to get underneath the intended receiver and steal the ball away.

“I was happy for him,” Macdonald said. “We were laughing the other day that someday he’s going to look back on his career and tell his kids, ‘Hey, let me tell you about my first NFL training camp, you’ll never believe it.’ He needed a break. It’s been good. He’s been working and the ball finds energy, so when you’re doing things the right way, executing at a high level, it’s funny the ball (comes) your way.”

(Photo: John Froschauer / Associated Press)

Michael-Shawn Dugar is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Seattle Seahawks. He previously covered the Seahawks for Seattlepi.com. He is also the co-host of the "Seahawks Man 2 Man" podcast. Follow Michael-Shawn on Twitter @MikeDugar