Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Sam Howell has entered Sunday night's game against the Green Bay Packers to replace starter Geno Smith, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

“Seahawks QB Sam Howell has replaced the injured Geno Smith,” shared Schefter via a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Smith appeared to suffer a lower-body injury in the second half of the Packer game. At the time of this writing, Smith is deemed questionable to return to action, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

Before he left the game, Smith had passed for 149 yards with zero touchdowns and an interception on 15-of-19 pass completions.

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It appears that Smith got hurt after getting hit in the leg by Green Bay linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. The former West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback immediately went down and was in visible pain after the hit. Smith managed to walk off the field under his own power but also limped on his way to the locker room presumably to have a further look on his injury. The Seahawks later listed it as a knee injury.

With Smith currently out of the game, Howell's readiness for such an emergency is being put to the test. Prior to the showdown against the Packers, Howell had only seen the field once, which was back in Week 7, during a road game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium versus the Atlanta Falcons. If Smith would need some time away from the action, Howell can be expected to become the Seahawks' temporary starter under center. He has some experience in that role, having started 17 games in 2023 with the Washington Commanders, passing for 3,946 yards and 21 touchdowns against 24 interceptions.

The Seahawks entered Week 15 on sitting precariouosly on top of the NFC West division with an 8-5 record. Breathing down their necks are the 8-6 Los Angeles Rams and the 7-7 Arizona Cardinals, who won their respective Week 15 assignments.