NFL Rumors: Seahawks Not Eying Cam Newton Deal, Nick Foles Trade After Wilson Injury

AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer

It’s Geno Smith time for the Seattle Seahawks.

“The early word out of Seattle is that they’re going to go with Geno Smith,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported when discussing the fallout from Russell Wilson’s injury. “They’re not going to look at the street free-agent route like a Cam Newton or trade for a Nick Foles. They believe they can win with this guy.

Wilson underwent surgery to address two injuries to his middle finger he suffered during Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Fowler reported Friday that the team was “bracing” for Wilson to be sidelined for up to eight weeks.

To Smith’s credit, he looked formidable for extended stretches during Thursday’s game.

He finished 10-of-17 passing for 131 yards, one touchdown and one interception and nearly orchestrated a dramatic comeback. Seattle was down by nine points in the fourth quarter without Wilson when Smith directed a 10-play, 98-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to DK Metcalf.

The Rams answered with their own touchdown drive, but Smith led a field-goal drive to close the gap to six and had an opportunity to win it in the final minutes.

While he threw an interception to Nick Scott to end those comeback hopes, it was still an impressive showing for someone who hasn’t started a game since the 2017 campaign. The last time he started more than one game in a season was in 2014 for the New York Jets.

Smith entered the league as a second-round pick of the Jets in 2013 and has a 12-19 record as a starter. He doesn’t have the resume to match those of Newton and Foles, but the Seahawks clearly believe in him following Thursday’s showing.

As for Newton, he is without a team after the New England Patriots released him prior to the 2021 campaign. The 2015 league MVP and three-time Pro Bowler struggled with eight touchdown passes to 10 interceptions in 2020.

Foles is the third-string quarterback for the Chicago Bears and figured to be a veteran option with a Super Bowl ring for a team in need of depth after an injury.

Alas, Seattle will apparently not be that team.