Seattle Seahawks: 3 Players to watch vs. Chargers in Preseason Week 3

Geno Smith, QB

Smith missed Week 2 as he recovered from having a cyst removed. During his absence, Paxton Lynch failed to reproduce the success he found in Week 1. J.T. Barrett, who was brought in to replace Smith, played extremely poorly. It’s hard to tell how much ground Smith has given up to Lynch, but the former New York Jet has reasons for concern.

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Smith’s job could be in jeopardy. The Seahawks have a habit of keeping only one backup quarterback. Last year, Brett Hundley filled the role. Seattle can afford to take what would ordinarily be a risky decision because of how durable Wilson has been. Wilson hasn’t missed a start in his seven-year career, despite being sacked 299 times during that span.

Smith was given the benefit of the doubt by many fans when he originally signed with Seattle. Unlike Lynch, Smith has experience as a starter in the NFL. He led the Jets in 2013 and 2014 before permanently being relegated to a journeyman backup position. In comparison, Lynch played in just five games before flunking out of Denver and ending up with the Seahawks.

However, Lynch’s Week 1 performance was significantly better than Smith’s. Since Smith recently joined the Seahawks too, the team has no reason to favor him over Lynch. One of these two quarterbacks is getting cut, and Smith could influence the decision by having a good performance in Week 3.