Seahawks add to quarterback depth, agree to terms with P.J. Walker

With mandatory minicamp on tap next week, the Seahawks added a third quarterback to their roster — veteran free agent P.J. Walker.

A league source confirmed that the Seahawks have agreed to terms with Walker with his official signing coming after he passes a physical.

Walker, 29, has played in 21 NFL games with nine starts. That includes two last year with the Cleveland Browns, including an October game at Lumen Field. He went 15 of 31 for 248 yards and a touchdown in that game and threw a late interception on a pass that went off Jamal Adams’ helmet and was then picked off by Julian Love that allowed the Seahawks to pull out a 24-20 win on a nine-yard pass from Geno Smith to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 38 seconds remaining.

He did not start again and became a free agent at the end of the season. Walker finished last season completing 54-of-111 passes in six games for Cleveland for 674 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions. He also lost a fumble against the Seahawks had lost two on the season.

Walker, listed at 5 foot 11, 215 pounds, becomes the third QB on the depth chart behind starter Geno Smith and backup Sam Howell.

Howell was acquired in March in a trade with the Washington Commanders.

The Seahawks signed rookie undrafted free agent Chevan Cordeiro in May but released him following rookie minicamp and has had just Smith and Howell on the roster since.

Teams typically have at least three QBs on their roster for training camp.

The Seahawks have OTAs (Organized Team Activities) set for Thursday and Friday and has minicamp practices Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before breaking for the summer and returning for training camp in late July.

The Seahawks considered signing Walker in 2020 after he had success with Houston in the XFL. But he signed with Carolina and played for the Panthers for the next three seasons, making seven starts. He was in camp with the Bears last year before being released in late August and signing with Cleveland.

Walker, who played at Temple, is 185 of 339 passing in his NFL career with six touchdowns against 16 interceptions, and also has rushed 31 times for 80 yards.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb on Tuesday praised the play of Smith and Howell during OTAs.

“They’re awesome,’’ he said. “They’re freaking awesome. They are. I think that they’re both really, really hard workers. They’re very diligent, intelligent and I know that it means a lot to them and I think that their leadership in the room and how they react and work together says a lot about the kind of guys that they are. That they understand the team concept and they’re both fighting to get better every day. And I couldn’t be more happy with No. 1, where they’re at, and then the type of guys that management has brought into this place have done a really good job.”

Smith has taken all of the snaps with the No. 1 offense during the three OTAs open to the media, while Howell has worked with the second unit.

The Seahawks will have to make a move to clear out a spot on the 90-man roster for Walker.