Seahawks Offseason Position Breakdown: Quarterback

With the 2016 NFL season now in the books, and the 2017 league year not yet upon us, now is a good time to take a look at where things stand with the Seahawks roster. Over the next two weeks, we’ll take a position-by-position look at the Seahawks, both looking back at the 2016 season and looking ahead to 2017. Today, the focus is on the quarterbacks. 2016 Recap On one hand, the numbers would suggest that 2016 was one of Russell Wilson’s worst seasons as a pro, but when you consider the injuries he played through to be on the field every week, it was also one of his most impressive. Wilson sustained a high ankle sprain in Seattle’s season opener, an MCL sprain two weeks later, then later in the season he also battled a pectoral injury. So while Wilson’s 11 interceptions were a career-high and his 92.6 passer rating was a career-low, the fact that he was on the field at all early in the season was rather remarkable (plus, those are some pretty solid career-worst numbers). Due to Seattle’s inconsistencies in the running game—some of which were caused by Wilson's injuries—Wilson was asked to do more than ever this season, establishing career highs in completions (352), pass attempts (546), and yards (4,219). For the first time since Wilson arrived in Seattle, the Seahawks did not have a veteran backup behind him, but rather undrafted rookie Trevone Boykin, who won the job in camp and who showed some playmaking ability in limited playing time, completing 72.2 percent of his passes with a 91.2 passer rating. Notable Number: 64 Games won by the Seahawks, postseason included, since Wilson’s rookie season, the most for any quarterback through his first five seasons in NFL history. While wins are very much a team stat, no single player can affect the outcome of a game more than the quarterback, so it’s safe to say Wilson has had a very big hand in the most successful run in franchise history.Offseason Outlook The Seahawks are one of the NFL teams fortunate to have a young star quarterback who is playing under a long-term contract, so this position is far from a concern, but that doesn’t mean they won’t still look to add competition for the backup job or consider having a third quarterback on the roster next season, especially after coming so close to playing without Wilson for a stretch of 2016. “Trevone did a really nice job for us in giving us the kind of spark wanted out of that spot,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “Brand new young guy that’s never played, we wanted a guy that could move it; he does that. We’ll continue to look (at the backup spot), because the reality was right there. You’re down to your backup guy with nobody else on the roster. Thankfully that Boykin did a good job for us and gave us the confidence that we could hang in there. You get used to being in a two-quarterback system. For years that wasn’t the way you go—it was three guys. It helps you on the roster and all of that, but we’ll always look at that gain, we’re always looking for quarterbacks in every draft, in every offseason. That’s just something we’ve always consistently tried to do.” What The Future Holds While the Seahawks could bring in someone to compete with Boykin and/or an option to be a third quarterback, the more significant difference going forward will be the continued development of Wilson who, despite doing so much in his career already, should only get better over the next few seasons. No position in football takes longer to master than quarterback, which is why Carroll is so excited about the player Wilson can be in 2017 and beyond. “You just get better,” Carroll said. “Remember that we’re comparing him to guys that have played for 11 and 12 and 13 years. We compare him to the best in the world, because he’s worthy of that, but look at them when they were 6-years-old (in their careers). What were they doing, how many of those guys won so many games, how many of those guys were in the playoffs five times? I don’t know how many games he has won but he has won probably as many as anyone who’s ever started playing the game. He has been in position to do a lot of stuff and he has had a good team around him to do that, of course, but he has still got tons of growth.” “It’s going to be thrilling to watch what happens in the next three or four years. Get him to year eight or nine and see where he’s going to be, you know?” RELATED Offseason Position Breakdown: Wide Receiver Offseason Position Breakdown: Offensive Line Offseason Position Breakdown: Cornerback Offseason Position Breakdown: Defensive Line Offseason Position Breakdown: Safety Offseason Position Breakdown: Running Back Offseason Position Breakdown: Linebacker Offseason Position Breakdown: Tight End Offseason Position Breakdown: Special Teams

Seahawks Offseason Position Breakdown: Quarterback

Despite doing so much in his career already, quarterback Russell Wilson should only get better over the next few seasons.