Why it doesn’t make sense for the Seahawks to trade Drew Lock
· Yahoo Sports
With Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold returning to the starting lineup this week against the Washington Commanders, Drew Lock recedes back to his backup position. With Lock performing very well in his limited time as a starter, as well as the flurry of injuries to starting quarterbacks this season, some have began to wonder if he could be a potential trade chip for the Seahawks. Of the quarterback injuries this season, the longest injury seems to be to the New York Giants quarterback, Jaxson Dart, who will miss the rest of the regular season. The Giants also happen to be the team that Lock was with back in 2024.
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Of course, the Seahawks could trade Lock. However, doing so would be an awfully risky move for a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The argument for trading Lock would be that the team does not expect Darnold to be out of the starting lineup again this season, and that Lock is on an expiring contract. On top of this, Jalen Milroe is on the team and could be your backup quarterback. Because of this, you might as well get a draft pick for him before he likely leaves for another team next season.
However, there are flaws with this line of thinking. Of course, the team would not expect Darnold to get hurt again. However, this is the NFL; injuries occur all the time. Yes, Jalen Milroe could serve as your backup quarterback. However, if Darnold were to get hurt, does the team really trust him to take legitimate quarterback snaps in an NFL game? Outside of the week three preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs last month, Milroe has looked very much like a developmental project rather than a true NFL quarterback. At least at this point. Maybe in 2027 he will be ready for that jump to be a true backup, one snap away from playing legitimate NFL snaps. However, for the Seahawks to put him in that position right now would be playing with fire for an otherwise Super Bowl ready team. Lock has proven to the Seahawks that he can lead this team to victories if forced into the lineup. Even national pundits like Daniel Jeremiah have said that the Seahawks can win a Super Bowl with Drew Lock.
The argument about getting a draft pick now for Lock rather than allowing him to leave in free agency is also flawed. Yes you could get a draft pick for him now, however it likely will not be worth trading him away. A good trade example to look at was when the Cincinnati Bengals traded for Joe Flacco midway through last season. The Bengals sent the Cleveland Browns a 5th round pick for Flacco and a 6th round pick. Of course, Flacco is much older than Lock and looked abysmal in Cleveland. However, Lock (like Flacco was) is on an expiring contract, so the team trading for him would be trading for merely a rental on Lock. Because of this, it is highly unlikely that Seattle would get anything better than an early day three pick. The Seahawks also already have a plethora of draft picks for 2027, even after the trade for cornerback Avery Smith earlier this season.
On top of this, if Lock were to leave in free agency after the season, the Seahawks would likely get another draft pick anyway for him through the compensatory formula. If you look at the 2026 NFL compensatory picks, the Philadelphia Eagles got a third round pick for losing Milton Williams, who signed a contract with the New England Patriots for an average of $26 million per year. The San Francisco 49ers got a fourth round pick for losing Aaron Banks, who signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers for an average of $19.25 million per year. This shows that the Seahawks would have a legitimate shot at a 4th or even 3rd round draft pick if Drew Lock can sign for more than $20 million per year next offseason. That number is very realistic for Lock after his performance over the last two games.
Two quarterback contracts that can be a guide for Lock are Jacoby Brissett and Malik Willis. Brissett recently signed a new deal with the Arizona Cardinals that puts him at an average salary of $15.5 million per year. Willis meanwhile signed this last offseason with the Miami Dolphins with an average salary of $22.5 million per year. There is an argument that Lock’s contract could look closer to Willis’s rather than Brissett’s based on the fact that Lock will be a true free agent and have a potential bidding war. On top of this, Lock at 29 years old is closer in age to Willis (27) than Brissett (33).
All of this said is to illustrate that the Seahawks are likely to get a 3rd or 4th round compensatory pick for Lock when he likely leaves in free agency next offseason. Because of this, there is no reason to trade him away unless you can net a pick better than a 3rd round pick. There is a very slim to no chance that a team would trade Seattle a pick better than a 3rd round pick for a rental contract on Lock. For all of these reasons, it makes little to no sense for the Seahawks to trade away Drew Lock.