The Seattle Seahawks didn't actually fire head coach Pete Caroll until a few weeks later, but their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers late in the 2023 season felt like a crossing-the-Rubicon moment for the franchise. Approximately one year later, it's a completely different team with a totally new power structure at the top, led by general manager John Schneider and rookie head coach Mike Macdonald.
While there are still a few games left to play out in 2024, Sunday night's loss to the Green Bay Packers had a similar sort of feel to that Pittsburgh game. While Schneider and Macdonald's jobs are safe, the same can't necessarily be said of the quarterback situation - which suddenly looks primed for a change.
First, Geno Smith threw another heinous end zone interception, his 13th pick on the season and fourth in the red zone. Then he suffered a knee injury in the third quarter. In his place Sam Howell laid an egg and also coughed up a pick of his own. While you can't make major personnel decisions based on one game, this felt like a wake-up moment for the Seahawks and their quarterbacks.
If the front office decides to change course and build around a different quarterback in 2025, they may look to the Indianapolis Colts. According to Marissa Myers at TWSN, Seattle will pull off a deal for quarterback Anthony Richardson.
TWSN on Seahawks-Anthony Richardson
"With the Seahawks, they’d be able to help Richardson with a better skill group to surround him with of DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Tyler Lockett and Kenneth Walker. Getting a younger, more dynamic quarterback under center would help elevate the Seahawks to new heights. For the Colts, trading Richardson after the season would allow Shane Steichen to get a more developed quarterback to lead the offense..."
Why it might actually happen
It was no great secret that the Seahawks were enamored with Richardson during the pre-draft process back in 2023 - in particular Pete Carroll was reportedly in love with the prospect. However, they didn't hold a high enough pick - Richardson went to Indy at fourth overall and Seattle settled for left tackle Charles Cross at ninth.
Richardson still has all of the attributes that made him an enticing prospect, including an incredible arm and rushing talent up the wazoo. However, the results for Richardson have been pretty suspect for the Colts thus far. He's completed just over 50% of his passes, totaling 2,260 yards, 10 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 66.9 passer rating. Richardson has also totaled 565 yards and nine scores as a rusher.
None of those passing numbers are pretty, but we knew Richardson would be a project coming out of Florida and he's only started 14 games at the NFL level so far. There's still plenty of time for Richardson to live up to the potential he showed in college, and a change of scenery might be exactly what he needs to unlock it.
If the Seahawks do decide to go in a different direction (away from Geno Smith) trading for Richardson would fit on a number of levels, including Schneider's preference for aggressive quarterbacks who have at least some experience as a pro as opposed to rookies. If he was as gaga over Richardson as Carroll then he might be a legitimate trade target.
