Geno Smith is out injured. So Drew Lock making his first Seahawks start at 49ers
Well, this is sub-optimal for Seattle.
The Seahawks made starting quarterback Geno Smith inactive Sunday for their important NFC West game at division-leading San Francisco. That’s because of a groin injury the veteran got Thursday in practice “stumbling” over a teammate, in the word of coach Pete Carroll.
That meant Drew Lock was making his first start of his two seasons with the Seahawks (6-6 entering Sunday) after he arrived from Denver as part of Seattle’s trade of Russell Wilson.
Lock’s start against the 49ers (9-3 entering Sunday) is his first in the NFL since he lost three games with the Broncos in the 2021 season.
Lock appeared in two games over Seattle’s first dozen this season, replacing the injured Smith before Smith returned to those games. Lock was 2 for 6 passing Oct. 2 at the New York Giants, a Seahawks win. He was 2 for 6 with an interception in two drives replacing Smith after the Rams’ Aaron Donald injured Smith’s throwing arm in Seattle’s loss at Los Angeles Nov. 18.
Smith said this past week his arm is not 100% healthy, “not close” to it.
This start Sunday is the first time Lock has had at least a practice running the first-team offense before a game. He had 1 1/2 practices to do that after Smith got hurt Thursday.
As Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News and East Bay Times reported Sunday morning, Smith was on the field before 10 a.m., more than three hours before kickoff. He tested his injured groin for about 10 minutes while the Seahawks’ medical-training staff watched closely.
Smith looked “looked very ginger, walked off favoring right leg/groin,” Inman reported.
When the Seahawks took the field for their early pregame about an hour later, Lock and veteran Sean Mannion were Seattle’s only two quarterbacks on the field. The team signed Mannion Friday and elevated him from its practice squad Saturday in the wake of Smith’s freak-sounding injury in practice Thursday.
Sunday was the first game Smith has missed since he replaced Wilson as the Seahawks’ starter for the start of the 2022 season. He made 24 consecutive starts, including in January at San Franisco in Seattle’s wild-card playoff loss, before missing this game.
It was a rematch of the 49ers’ 31-13 win in Seattle Thanksgiving night. That was San Francisco’s fourth consecutive lopsided win over the Seahawks since the beginning of last season.
Seattle’s other inactive players Sunday for the 49ers game: wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge, edge rusher Frank Clark, cornerback Tre Brown, backup offensive linemen McClendon Curtis and Raiqwon O’Neal and reserve linebacker Patrick O’Connell.
Eskridge has injured ribs. Brown, the usual left cornerback when the Seahawks go to nickel defense and move rookie left corner Devon Witherspoon inside to nickel back, has an injured heel.
The Seahawks had listed lead running back Kenneth Walker and number-two rusher Zach Charbonnet questionable to play, like Smith. But Walker and Charbonnet were active.
Walker was playing for the first time since he injured his oblique muscle Nov. 18 in Seattle’s loss at the Los Angeles Rams.
This story was originally published December 10, 2023 at 11:46 AM.
