Before the season even gets off, the Seattle Seahawks are saying goodbye to a seasoned quarterback.
P.J. Walker will be cut by the Seahawks when they reduced their roster to 53 players before the trade deadline on Tuesday, August 27, as ESPN’s Brady Henderson reports. The 29-year-old quarterback inked a contract not long before June’s minicamp.
Henderson says, “A source tells me that QB PJ Walker has been informed by the Seahawks that he will be released.”Seahawks’ Reason for Releasing Walker, P.J.
Walker essentially joined up as the team’s third quarterback in order to gain a position on the roster. Sam Howell, a former starter for the Washington Commanders, was acquired by the Seahawks in the summer for two draft selections. Smith will be Smith’s backup quarterback. Geno Smith is the team’s established starter.
Last season, the Seahawks only had two quarterbacks on their roster: Smith and Drew Lock. Walker, meanwhile, did not fare well in the preseason, finishing 15-for-28 for 147 yards passing with no touchdowns and no interceptions. In the preseason finale, he did, however, have an interception called back because of a roughing the passer penalty.
Walker’s signing by the Seahawks to the practice squad is “far from a guarantee,” as Mookie Alexander of SB Nation’s Field Gulls points out.
Walker, who has started for the Browns and Carolina Panthers in the NFL in the past, “got doused very quickly if there was any slight inkling that he would compete for the QB2 job with Sam Howell,” writes Alexander. Furthermore, there’s no assurance that the Seahawks would keep him on the practice squad as a backup quarterback.P.J. Walker Has Played Seven Years as a Journeyman in the NFL
After joining the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in 2017, the 5-foot-11 quarterback has been traded between teams. Walker established himself in the XFL during the 2020 season after spending the most of his first three seasons primarily on the Colts practice squad. He threw 15 touchdowns against four interceptions for a 104.4 passer rating until the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season. Walker led the league in throwing touchdowns and passing yards at the conclusion of the season.
Walker made his NFL debut with the Carolina Panthers in 2020 as a result of his XFL success. Walker played in four games (one of which he started), totaling 45.8 passer rating at the conclusion of the season with one touchdown against five interceptions.Walker would play for Carolina for three seasons in total. In 2022, he made five starts as a starter, finishing 2-3 with three touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 78.0 passing rating. Walker then spent last year’s summer with the Chicago Bears before being waived before the final cuts. But after Deshaun Waton’s season-ending injury, he ultimately caught on with the Cleveland Browns practice squad and began playing in games. With two starts, he played in six games and finished with a 1-1 record, one touchdown versus five interceptions, and a 52.2 passer rating.Given Walker’s experience, a team may give the seasoned quarterback a shot if the Seahawks decide not to bring him back. Walker has a career throwing yardage total of 2,135 yards, six touchdowns versus sixteen interceptions, a 60.0 passer rating, and a 5-4 starting record.
