The Seahawks Monday signed free agent QB Austin Davis, who most recently was a member of the Denver Broncos. Davis worked out with Seattle last week, as did Colin Kaepernick, the former starter for the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks now have three backup QBs on the 90-man roster: Davis, Trevone Boykin and Jake Heaps, after employing only Boykin last year.
The 6-2, 220-pound Davis, who turned 28 Friday, has been on four teams, but has had meaningful playing time only for the for St. Louis Rams and Cleveland Browns.
Davis entered the NFL with the Rams in 2012 out of Southern Mississippi. After two years in St. Louis and one in Cleveland, he joined the Broncos last year but did not play a down.
Davis has career marks of 62.4 completion percentage, 2,548 yards and 13 touchdowns. His best season was in 2014 when he played in 11 games for St. Louis, starting eight. Davis had the best statistical game of his career against the Seahawks Oct. 19. He threw for 155 yards, two touchdowns and had a 132.3 pass rating in the Rams’ 28-26 victory.
The last time that Davis played in an NFL regular-season game was week 17 of the 2015 season for the Browns.
Kaepernick, 29, has been a star with the 49ers but has drawn little interest in his services this off-season, which may be a result of the controversy surrounding his anthem protests. Last week, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said that Kaepernick still envisions himself as a starter. The Seahawks also could not afford to pay much more than the veteran’s minimum salary of $900,000. He made about $19 million last season before voiding the remaining years on his contract to become a free agent.
Kaepernick likely will wait to see whether injuries in training camp create an opening for a veteran who started 11 games last year. In declining to sign Kaepernick, the Seahawks passed on a QB who had a 90.7 rating for a 2-14 team, good for 17th among starters, four spots behind Wilson’s 92.4.
