Pete Carroll says Seattle Seahawks will take 'all the time we need' to decide on starting quarterback

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks' quarterback battle between Geno Smith and Drew Lock might not be decided anytime soon.

Coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that the Seahawks will take «all the time we need» to settle on a starter, noting the two and a half weeks they have between Friday's preseason finale against the Dallas Cowboys and the Sept. 12 opener against Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos.

Carroll said Smith remains ahead but that he's «wide open» to the possibility that Lock could overtake him.

Carroll didn't specify when he had initially planned to make a decision but said it changed when Lock was sidelined with COVID-19 last Tuesday, two days before he was set to make his first start of the summer in Seattle's second preseason game against the Chicago Bears. Lock returned Sunday and has taken part in all three practices this week, sharing first-team reps with Smith on Tuesday.

Carroll wouldn't reveal who will start Friday but said again that Lock will play «a lot.»

«I'm wide open for whatever happens,» Carroll said. «Geno's been the guy in the lead position the whole time, and I've protected that thought throughout. He's done a really nice job. He's been very consistent. So we'll just see what happens. There's two more weeks of practice, too, after this. I had a set thought on what we would do with the timeline but that got disrupted, so we're going to use all the time we need.»

Smith has taken most of the first-team reps. He started the Seahawks' mock game and then their preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers a week later. The plan was for Lock to start against Chicago and then go from there. Lock took all the first-team reps last Tuesday but struggled while feeling sick, testing positive later