RENTON, Wash. -- The Seattle Seahawks open the 2022 regular season on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 12 at Lumen Field.
And now they know which quarterback will start against their old one when Russell Wilson makes his much-anticipated return to Seattle. Coach Pete Carroll announced after the final preseason game Friday that Geno Smith will get the nod over Drew Lock in Week 1.
There's plenty more that Seattle has to sort out before the opener, with position battles still undecided at cornerback, nickelback, right tackle and No. 3 receiver.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here's a projection:
QUARTERBACK (2): Geno Smith, Drew Lock
By picking Smith to start the opener, the Seahawks are going with experience over upside. It's not that Smith ran away with the competition by lighting it up. It's more so that he began in the lead thanks to his understanding of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's offense, and Lock never did enough to catch up -- at least in Carroll's eyes. It certainly didn't help that Lock missed the second preseason game -- which he was set to start -- with COVID-19.