Seattle Seahawks: Trying to Sift Through Their Muddled Quarterback Situation

Despite the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL Players Union and the league being extended, teams ability to re-sign players ended at midnight eastern time Thursday. 

When that happened the Seattle Seahawks were left with one quarterback, Charlie Whitehurst, under contract. 

They had been trying to reach a new deal with Matt Hasselbeck before Thursday’s CBA deadline, but were unable to.  With reports that the two sides are far apart and with the release of Nate Davis a day earlier, the Seahawks quarterback situation is muddy at best. 

So what does this all mean? 

Do they want Hasselbeck back? Are they comfortable going into the season with Whitehurst as the No. 1 quarterback.

Are they going to make a trade? Are they going to draft a quarterback? 

Even without both sides coming to an agreement, it still seems like the safe money is betting on Hasselbeck eventually being re-signed.  Both parties are at least saying the right things. 

Granted that could just be window dressing, but for now, it’s at least safe to assume he wants to stay in Seattle and the Seahawks want him back.  Pete Carrol made that clear after the season ended and Hasselbeck has recently stated he’d be surprised if he wasn’t a Seahawk again. 

The possibility of trading for a quarterback seems unrealistic.  Eagles backup Kevin Kolb is being dangled out there for every team with a need behind center.  Reports are that the Eagles are asking for at least a first- and third-round pick, possibly more. 

The Seahawks have too many holes in their roster to give up that much for a quarterback who looks good, but is still, in many ways, unproven.

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer has demanded a trade from Cincinnati, and with his ties to Pete Carroll, there has been speculation that Seattle might make a move.

The problem is that Bengals' owner, Paul Brown, is notoriously stubborn, and there is a consensus that he will force Palmer to either play in Cincinnati or retire.

Denver coach John Fox has come out and already named Kyle Orton, another player many thought might be available for a trade, as his No. 1 guy for the Broncos. 

When you add it all up, there doesn't seem to be a quarterback trade available. 

Reading between the lines, it does not feel like Pete Carroll is comfortable going into the season with Charlie Whitehurst as the No. 1 quarterback, either.

Last season, after some particularly bad Hasselbeck starts, Carroll refused to give the ball to Whitehurst.  When he was forced to in the last game of the year they put a tight leash on Whitehurst. 

Did that conservative game plan show a lack in confidence in him? He was treated as if he was a fresh-out-of-college rookie instead of a five-year veteran.

At the end of the year, Carroll barely even acknowledged Whitehurst when discussing the quarterback position.  If they felt Whitehurst was the guy, he would have been the guy.

For his part, Whitehurst has not shown he can be a starting quarterback.  He has been in the league for five years, given opportunities to move up depth charts and has not been able to do so.

With a new offensive coordinator, he would now be trying to learn his third system in three years.  For a quarterback who has never had success in the NFL, that may be asking too much. 

It seems that Seattle will want someone other than Whitehurst to be their starter this year. 

The release of Nate Davis came as a surprise to many and may signal that the Seahawks are going to draft someone in April’s draft.

Davis was a raw work-in-progress quarterback who had shown some glimpses in San Francisco that he might be a player someday.  His release indicates that the Seahawks may feel the kids coming out in the draft have better potential. 

For this reason, Seattle will most definitely draft a quarterback. 

Who that guy is or should be is up for debate.  Do they use their first pick? Try and get someone in the second round?

They have other needs, but if they feel that they can sign some free agents like Robert Gallery to fill them, then maybe they go quarterback in the first round.

There are, of course, a great number of variables in play, and trying to predict what is going to happen is like trying to guess what Charlie Sheen is going to say next. 

Nobody knows what is to become of the collective bargaining agreement.  Nobody knows what free agency or the salary cap is going to look like. 

Reading the tea leaves, it seems that when the smoke clears the Seahawks will go into the season with Matt Hasselbeck as the starter and Whitehurst and a draft pick battling it out for the No. 2 spot.

What do you think, Seahawks fans?