Back in 2022, Sam Howell wondered if he might end up a Seahawk.

Howell spent time with then Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales in the pre-draft process and thought he might find a home in Seattle. Instead, Howell was drafted by Washinton in the fifth round, and went on to become the Commanders’ starting quarterback last season.

But after a trade this week, which was finalized Friday with Howell arriving in Seattle and passing a physical, the Seahawks acquired Howell two years after they first showed interest in the quarterback from North Carolina.

“I spent a lot of time with (Canales), and we had a really good relationship,” Howell said Friday. “I thought this was a team I might come to do, but I didn’t. But I’m here now, and I’m excited to be here and excited to be a Seahawk.”

With Washington holding the No. 2 overall pick and widely expected to select a quarterback, Howell knew a trade was possible, and once that appeared to be the likely scenario for him, he had Seattle high on his list of preferred destinations.

“I was excited,” he said of the trade. “Once I figured out that me being traded was a possibility, this was one of the teams that I kind of had circled and was hoping for. I’m just very happy to be here, very thankful to John (Schneider) and to Mike (Macdonald) for giving me this opportunity. I’m just ready to go to work.”

Howell gives the Seahawks a young, talented and experienced quarterback—he is still only 23 and started all 17 games last season—to back up Geno Smith, and Howell is excited to get to work with Seattle’s Pro Bowl quarterback.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for him, he’s a heck of a football player, and he’s had a good career,” Howell said of Smith. “He’s battled through some adversity and come out on the other side, so I definitely have a lot of respect for what he’s done throughout his career, and I think the world of him as a player.”

Seahawks fans probably remember Howell for his impressive performance in the Commanders’ Week 10 loss to the Seahawks, a close game in which he completed 29 of 44 passes for 312 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, a performance that included two impressive touchdown passes in the fourth quarter that twice tied the score.

For Seahawks fans who might have missed that game, Howell describes himself as “a tough competitor, a guy who’s going to do whatever it takes to help his team find a way to win a football game. I don’t really care much about who gets the credit or how we do it as long as we get it done. I take a lot of pride in being a good teammate and being good for the locker room, and I’m going to give this team all I’ve got.”

And having experienced a dramatic finish as an opposing quarterback at Lumen Field, Howell is excited to have that fanbase on his side going forward.

“Man, it’s the loudest thing I’ve ever heard,” he said. “It was a close game in the fourth quarter, we were down one touchdown and had the ball in the fourth quarter, and we couldn’t hear anything. We had to burn two timeouts just so I could get a play from the sideline. You definitely don’t want to be the visiting team, so I’m happy to be on the home sideline now. It’s definitely the toughest place to play in the league, and I’m just happy I’m on the right side of it now.”