The trade price is a cup of coffee, with the Seahawks essentially accepting a picks swap. They have moved up from 172 to 142 for the price of Howell. Seattle, of course, drafted Alabama’s Jalen Milroe to be its new No. 2 on Friday evening. For Minnesota, it should officially end the chatter of Aaron Rodgers coming to the Twin Cities, perhaps finally shaking him loose to sign with the Steelers. Howell isn’t a particularly great backup, but he is still only 24 years old with a dual-threat skill-set and 18 career starts. He has attempted 645 passes. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has coaxed production out of every quarterback he has ever worked with, and we assume Howell would be no different were first-year starter J.J. McCarthy to go down.

In a recent radio appearance, Seahawks GM John Schneider said that the team is prepared to allow Howell and the recently acquired Drew Lock to compete for the primary backup role behind Sam Darnold. Schneider may have been engaging in a bit of public negotiating, though, effectively telling teams to up their offer. Backup QB Jaren Hall currently sits fourth on the depth chart behind them. Head coach Mike Macdonald increased his QB personnel number to three in-season last year, and new OC Klint Kubiak also worked with three rostered quarterbacks as a member of the Saints’ coaching staff last year. While Hall would be the odd man out if no trade materializes, seeing Howell depart via a draft-day trade this week would be unsurprising.

Howell also took four sacks in addition to the interception thrown, which is in line with what we saw from him a season ago while playing for the Commanders. His pocket awareness and ability to diagnose the blitz, pressure, and opposing coverages is simply lacking, which could put the Seahawks in a bind moving forward if Geno Smith can’t make it back in time for the team’s Week 16 matchup against the Vikings. The loss drops the Seahawks out of the playoff picture in the NFC and they have three difficult opponents in the Vikings, Bears, and division rival Rams remaining. It certainly appears to be an uphill battle for the Seahawks to make the postseason after they had rattled of four consecutive wins before this loss.

Howell connected on a beautiful 23-yard touchdown throw to Easop Winston Jr. with a little over a minute left in the first quarter to punctuate a drive where he went 4-for-4 for 53 yards. He also found Cody White for a 33-yard gain on an impressive throw. The 23-year-old was much improved from his so-so — at best — play last week. There’s still no QB battle here, but Howell solidified his status as the backup with his play Saturday.