For Eason, surprise workload was ‘great opportunity’

By Adam Jude / The Seattle Times

SEATTLE — For a moment, the two former Husky teammates had something to celebrate in their first game together with the Seahawks.

Alas, Aaron Fuller’s catch from Jacob Eason in the end zone — initially ruled a touchdown — was waved off, a fitting reversal on a night when little went right for the Seahawks in an ugly 27-11 loss to the Chicago Bears in a preseason game Thursday at Lumen Field.

Eason, in his first snaps at quarterback with the Seahawks, threw Fuller’s way often in the second half, with uneven results.

With 31 seconds left, Fuller appeared to haul in a 17-yard pass from Eason before crashing hard to the turf on the left edge of the end zone. The side judge initially ruled it a catch, but the play was overturned after a replay review.

“Till the day I die I’ll probably say I caught it,” Fuller said later in the Seahawks locker room.

Eason completed 17 of 35 pass attempts for 141 yards against the Bears. Ten of his throws were intended for Fuller, with three completions for 34 yards.

For two players on the fringe of an NFL roster, it was an important showcase opportunity to show the Seahawks — or any other team — what they can do.

“We both know where we’re at right now,” said Fuller, a teammate of Eason’s at UW in 2018-19. “We both want to make plays. I think it just came down to trust. Obviously, we went to school together, and we’ve built a good connection. Whenever you want to show your best, you go where you have the most trust — and it just happened to be me.”

Through the first few weeks of training camp, Eason had limited snaps to work with the third-team offense. The priority for the Seahawks has been to give Geno Smith and Drew Lock as many reps as possible as they compete for the starting job.

It wasn’t until after practice Tuesday afternoon — a little more than 48 hours before Thursday’s kickoff — that Eason learned he would get his first snaps with the Seahawks after Lock tested positive for COVID-19.

Eason got some light work in during Wednesday’s walk-through practice, but that was about it.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Eason said. “I would’ve liked to have some reps at Tuesday’s practices, but that’s how it goes.”

A Lake Stevens High School alum, Eason had family and friends in the stands for his first time playing in a Seahawks uniform.

“It was exciting,” he said. “Every opportunity for me is huge, and this was a great opportunity, regardless of what the score was, to get in and play some football again.”

Eason did not play in the Seahawks’ first preseason game Saturday in Pittsburgh, and these were Eason’s first game snaps of any kind since last September when he made his first and only NFL start with the Indianapolis Colts.

He’s largely taken a backseat in the Smith-Lock QB competition with the Seahawks.

“It’s a challenge,” Eason said. “But I think it’s a good challenge, you know, in the spot I’m in. It pushes me to seek out things that are hard to do, like being on this spot — not getting a lot of reps and then going and playing in a preseason game. It’s tough.

“But I think at the end of the day, it’s going to make me better. It’s going to make me grind more on the mental side of things, really understand those things. And today, it was a huge opportunity to get a whole half of football in and go out there and chuck it around a little bit. I’m excited to go watch the tape and see what I can learn from.”