The Seahawks are a franchise in transition after firing head coach Pete Carroll on January 10 in a move that surprised most around the NFL. While the team has yet to name his replacement, interviews are ongoing and whomever succeeds Carroll is likely to want his own choice under center.
Seattle played too well to put itself in a position to draft one of the top two or three QB prospects in the 2024 draft, all of whom could come off the board before the Arizona Cardinals go on the clock at No. 4. That doesn’t preclude the Seahawks from drafting a quarterback, though they’re more likely to do so later in the draft, perhaps trading down from the No. 16 overall pick or using it on a signal-caller.
The problem with that strategy is that it probably doesn’t put a starter under center in the immediate. Seattle doesn’t select again until the third round (Nos. 78 and 81), which puts the franchise in a bind. It can draft a QB with upside who needs work in the mid- to late-first round, it can stick with Smith who regressed in 2023 or it can pursue a pricey veteran in free agency.
Fields is arguably a better solution than all those aforementioned three. The structure of his contract will keep Fields cost-controlled for the next two years, with a fifth-year option in the cards to extend the deal through 2025.
He’s also a dual-threat QB and only 24 years old, which will afford the Seahawks’ next head coach the ability to build a roster and offensive scheme around Fields’ talents.
The general consensus around the NFL in early January was that Fields’ trade value resides with a pick somewhere in the second or third round, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin and Jeremy Fowler. But that is liable to change as teams start to evaluate their options at quarterback, taking into consideration Fields’ age, price, unteachable physical skill set and the support he’s built within the Bears locker room and fan base.
Seattle falls within the selection of teams that may still need a starter after free agency dries up and before the draft rolls around in late April. If that’s the case, Fields will probably appear a strong candidate potentially worthy of a mid-first round pick.
Max Dible covers the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and Golden State Warriors for Heavy.com. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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