Pete Carroll: Seahawks 'May Have 2 Number Ones' at QB

Carroll hasn't yet disclosed whether Geno Smith or Drew Lock will start under center for Seattle. With two full weeks to work with after the team's preseason finale, he's not in a rush to choose between two veterans who might have what it takes to be quality starters.

RENTON, Wash. - With more than 40 years of professional and college coaching under his belt, Pete Carroll knows the narrative. If your team has two quarterbacks, you don't really have one.

But as the Seahawks ramp up preparation for their final preseason game against the Cowboys on Friday with Geno Smith and Drew Lock still competing to replace Russell Wilson, even if it doesn't fit popular opinion, Carroll subscribes to the idea his team may be an exception to the rule.

"I know it's not supposed to be a good situation," Carroll told reporters prior to Tuesday's practice. "When you have two quarterbacks, it means you don't have one as the old saying goes, but I don't know. We might have two ones. We'll see what happens."

Up to this point, after starting three games in place of an injured Wilson a year ago, Smith has been in the driver's seat since the start of Seattle's organized team activities in June. The two signal callers have had a fairly even split in regards to reps, but Lock has been playing catchup working with the second string for the majority of training camp, including in a preseason opening loss to Pittsburgh.

Last week, Seattle looked ready to truly open up the competition with Lock stepping in with the first-team offense at Tuesday's practice and Carroll declaring him the starter for the second preseason game against Chicago. Momentum appeared to be on the former Missouri star's side after he tossed a pair of touchdown passes against the Steelers and turned in several quality practices in succession.

But less than two hours after Lock slogged through a tough practice, misfortune struck with him testing positive for COVID-19, which forced him to miss five days and a critical audition opportunity in the competition. Instead, Jacob Eason took all of the second half reps after Smith checked out at halftime.

In the Seahawks' first two exhibition games, Smith has only led two scoring drives on 12 offensive possessions and has yet to throw a touchdown pass. Despite those struggles, which weren't his fault in many regards anyway, he has remained out in front throughout training camp and the preseason with Carroll touting his leadership and consistency as prime reasons for him maintaining the edge over Lock.

"Geno has done a really good job of being in that position," Carroll said. "His voice is solid. He's on point all the time. He's been very consistent with his work and all of that. Drew has been really sharp too."

With four quarters of exhibition play left, Carroll acknowledged the Seahawks have had to alter their planned approach significantly after Lock missed last week's preseason game. Returning to the practice field on Sunday, the fourth-year quarterback will receive extensive playing time in Dallas against the Cowboys, but it remains unknown whether he or Smith will earn the start.

Nonetheless, Carroll understands how important this week will be for evaluating Lock in an exhibition "do over" and determining who will take snaps from Austin Blythe in Week 1. The Seahawks will then have two full weeks of practice before facing Wilson and the Broncos on Monday Night Football, and with that additional time, he and his staff won't be rushed into making a decision.

"We have two enormous weeks coming up to finish with this one. Next week is a huge week for us and then we come back with another full week and an extra day you know, so we got a lot of time here to work it out."

At this stage, the starting job appears to be Smith's to lose in part due to the tough break Lock drew a week ago and Carroll indicated as much on Tuesday. If he starts on Friday, that will be yet another sign the decision may already have been made or that the team is on the verge of declaring a winner.

But with the regular season now less than three weeks away, the door still remains open for Lock or Smith to win the job. Regardless of what happens, Carroll seems comfortable with either player seizing the opportunity and running the Seahawks' offense at a high level if they earn it.