Seahawks considering RG3, Kaepernick as backup quarterback

The Seattle Seahawks are looking for a backup quarterback, and two fallen stars are apparently on their radar.

Since becoming starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks as a rookie in 2012, Russell Wilson has started 80 regular season game and every playoff game the team has played. But playing behind a lackluster offensive line has left him vulnerable, and Wilson was banged up for much of last season.

Losing a starting quarterback would hurt any team, but the Seahawks are especially vulnerable if Wilson were to be sidelined with a significant injury. Trevone Boykin threw 18 passes as an undrafted rookie last season, but off-field issues leave his status very tenuous. So it would not be shocking if Seattle is seeking a veteran to back up Wilson, and that appears to finally be the case.

During an appearance Monday on 710 ESPN’s “Brock and Salk” show, Seahawks’ head coach Pete Carroll said the team wants to add competition behind Wilson. Colin Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III were specifically asked about, and Carroll left those possibilities open.

"“We’re looking at everybody. We really are,” Carroll said. “We’ve been tracking everything that’s going on, and we’ve got cap and roster issues and stuff like that that we’re still trying to manage properly. But quite frankly, yes, we are looking at all those guys.”"

Kaepernick being attached to the Seahawks is not necessarily new, as his skill set is a reasonable comp to Wilson’s and he could take over the same offense relatively seamlessly. But Griffin, shy of his recent engagement and baby announcement, has effectively been in hiding and has had no known interest on the open market.

The Browns cut Griffin on March 10, with a quick follow-up report he was “intrigued” by the New York Jets. His ability to stay healthy is as much of a concern as his level of play, which explains why RG3 is still available in mid-May.

Next: Colin Kaepernick: Top 5 fits in NFL free agency

Kaepernick’s ongoing availability seems mostly to do with non-football reasons, since he played reasonably well for the San Francisco 49ers last season (2,709 total yards; 16:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio). But if there’s a team to go outside the box and sign him, and extract value if he had to play, it would be the Seahawks.