By Bob Condotta / The Seattle Times
RENTON — The Seahawks have waived backup quarterback Paxton Lynch, a source told the Seattle Times on Friday, the first known move by the team as Seattle begins the task of paring its roster from 90 to 53.
Teams must be at the regular-season maximum of 53 by 1 p.m. Saturday.
Waiving Lynch means Geno Smith will be the backup quarterback to Russell Wilson. That’s no surprise as Smith played well in the final two preseason games and ended the preseason 18-for-34 for 282 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Lynch, who was a first-round pick of the Broncos in 2016, was 18-for-37 for 180 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
Smith left Thursday’s preseason finale against the Raiders late in the second quarter after having “got a little tweak” in his left knee, in the words of head coach Pete Carroll. That’s the same knee on which Smith had had surgery two weeks ago to remove a cyst. But the knee apparently checked out OK given that Lynch was waived.
Seattle also had signed former Ohio State star J.T. Barrett as a backup while Smith was out, but he played in only one game, throwing only three passes, and wasn’t considered a viable candidate for the job.
Lynch signed in January, saying later he had turned down a possible chance to sign late in the 2018 season with Washington because he thought the Seahawks would be a good fit for his skills.
But Seattle then added Smith to the competition in May after it became clear he was not going to return to the Chargers, with whom he spent last season.
That Smith has 31 career NFL starts — 29 coming when he was the primary starter for the New York Jets in 2013 and 2014 — had been perceived as giving him a leg up all along on the backup job.
Lynch, though, made things interesting when he played well against Denver in the preseason opener, leading Seattle to 19 second-half points in a 22-14 win and completing 11-of-15 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown while also rushing four times for 38 yards and another score.
Smith then sat out the next week after having the surgery on his knee.
But when Smith returned he put up the better numbers in the final two games. Lynch was just 7-for-22 for 71 yards in his final three performances including 1-for-7 for four yards in playing the second half Thursday night against the Raiders.
“I thought he looked really good,” Carroll said of Smith following Thursday night’s game, when he was 4-for-7 for 107 yards and two touchdowns. “I thought he did a nice job. A great couple balls down the field. A great touchdown pass to Terry (Wright, for 39 yards). It was a beautiful play. He looks in control of the offense. He gets it. He really understands it. So that’s a real positive.”
Lynch has practice squad eligibility and could be a candidate to stay on the Seattle roster in that capacity if he clears waivers. Barrett could also fill that role.
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