Jalen Milroe made his first career start Saturday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., which is also where the rookie quarterback was when the Seattle Seahawks selected him with the 92nd pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
And what was true about the former Alabama star on draft weekend is still true after he appeared in three preseason games, most recently a 20-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday afternoon.
Milroe needs a lot of time before he’s ready to be given the keys to a franchise.
Milroe led 12 drives against Green Bay, which played its defensive starters for a series, then worked in its backups and third-string units as the game progressed. Seattle rested all its starters. Milroe played with a mixture of second- and third-string teammates. His offensive line for most of the afternoon featured, from left to right: Amari Kight, Sataoa Laumea, Federico Maranges, Bryce Cabeldue and Michael Jerrell. Rookie lineman Mason Richman also rotated in at center.
Seattle’s running backs were Damien Martinez, Jacardia Wright and Anthony Tyus III; the tight ends were Nick Kallerup, Marshall Lang and Brady Russell; the available receivers were Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Jake Bobo, Dareke Young, Cody White, Ricky White III and Tyrone Broden.
From that group, my final roster projection includes only Jerrell, Valdes-Scantling, Bobo, Young and Martinez. So, Milroe wasn’t playing with many teammates expected to play meaningful regular-season snaps any time soon. It’s also worth noting that quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, not offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, was calling plays.
In a scheme built around running the ball, Milroe didn’t get much help from his ground game. The three running backs combined for 97 yards on 16 carries, but Wright’s 61-yard run in the second quarter accounted for most of that total. And that was the only carry by a running back that produced a first down. Seattle had a success rate of 18.8 percent on running back carries (all stats provided by TruMedia unless stated otherwise).
Milroe completed 13 of 24 passes for 148 yards with one touchdown. He was sacked five times, lost three fumbles and rushed seven times for 31 yards, producing three first downs. Milroe finished the game with a dropback EPA of minus-0.52. For context, Baker Mayfield posted the same dropback in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos in 2024, and it was the 14th-worst performance by a quarterback last season, at least by that metric.
“He’s out there, (and) he’s playing his tail off,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “There’s things that we’re going to learn from. Taking care of the football is probably the number one thing, and he knows that. We’ll learn from it and grow from it. It was definitely worth it to get him out there and have this experience. He’s definitely going to be able to build off this.”
The turnovers are the most glaring part of Milroe’s line. In the first quarter, he was sacked on third-and-7 and fumbled the ball. Green Bay recovered at Seattle’s 30-yard line and ended its series with a field goal. Milroe put the ball on the ground on a quarterback sneak on the following drive, and Green Bay responded with a 47-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter. On Seattle’s final offensive play, Milroe mishandled a snap, essentially ending the game.
“All on me,” Milroe said. “Everyone (turns it over) from the quarterback position — you have to build on. You have to take care of the football. All of those are on me. I gotta be better with ball security. It is tough when you’re in the trenches — they are going to swat at the ball. Some big, strong dudes; they are heavier than me. You have to protect the ball. It happens.
“But that one play didn’t lose the game. You gotta keep on competing. You gotta keep on building. That is part of the game. I am going to learn from that and grow from that.”
The turnovers can be assessed independent of Milroe’s supporting cast. In all three instances, the coaching point is obvious: Hold on to the ball.
Other elements of Milroe’s preseason performance against the Packers can be assessed independently as well. They all follow the same theme from his performances in practice and the first two preseason games. Milroe has shown throughout the preseason that he still must work on being decisive and throwing with anticipation.
Kubiak’s system builds in answers to pressure in obvious passing situations by having the quarterback get rid of the ball quickly. This system is different than schemes in which the quarterback has a lot of line of scrimmage autonomy to adjust the projection and account for the potential extra rushers.
Without the benefit of knowing the exact play call, it appears the answer on this third-down sack would have been to fire the ball quickly to Bobo running the out route. The receiver might not have picked up the first, but a positive gain would have put Seattle in a position to go for it on fourth down.
BIG PLAY, QUAY! pic.twitter.com/DnuT24T3kt
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 23, 2025
On the sack-fumble, Milroe got to the top of his drop and nearly threw a quick slant to Valdes-Scantling, who was likely the built-in answer to the pressure that Green Bay brought on third-and-7. Milroe pulled the ball back and turned it over. He also had other sacks and incompletions in obvious passing situations that could be attributed to decision-making and timing (and a bad route, in at least one instance).
Milroe had nine dropbacks with at least 4 yards to gain on third down. His only completion was a 12-yard completion to Bobo on third-and-16. On that play, Milroe manipulated the underneath defender and created space for an easy throw to set up a manageable fourth-down attempt. That was one of the few instances in which Milroe looked comfortable and confident in a dropback situation (the touchdown pass to Cody White was also a good read and delivery).
However, overall throughout the preseason, Milroe has looked like a player with a lot of room to grow as a quarterback. This was expected, of course. If a player with his arm strength, speed, power and work ethic were a refined passer, he probably wouldn’t have been available to the Seahawks in the third round.
On the flip side, some of the reasons Seattle took a flier on Milroe in the third round — like his deep ball throws and his athleticism — were on display, too.
Facing third-and-5 in the fourth quarter, Milroe delivered a well-placed deep ball to Broden on a go route. The receiver couldn’t haul it in because the defender was holding him, but Milroe’s timing and placement were solid. On first-and-15 in the same quarter, Milroe evaded pressure, kept his eyes downfield and threw an accurate ball on the move to White near the sideline for 25 yards. Two plays later, on second-and-8, he followed his tight end around the left side for a 15-yard run (that drive ended with the touchdown).
In the second quarter, Milroe scrambled for a 6-yard touchdown on third-and-goal after stepping up in the pocket and finding space to his left. A holding penalty on Richman negated the play, but it was nonetheless an example of the off-script playmaking that gives Milroe a high ceiling (he still would have scored if Richman hadn’t held the defensive tackle).
On third-and-3 in the third quarter, Milroe kept the ball on a zone-read play and went around the left side for 4 yards and a first down. It was one of two successful third-down plays out of 13 attempts by Seattle on Saturday. The other conversion was a quarterback sneak on third-and-1. Milroe’s legs will have to be a factor if he’s ever to have success as a starting quarterback. He showed flashes throughout the preseason and averaged 7.2 yards per carry with five first downs on nine designed runs.
The other positive for Seattle is that Milroe, the guy whose routine already includes a 4:30 a.m. arrival at the facility, will use his relatively underwhelming first taste of extended action as motivation to improve.
“If you’re discouraged, that means you’re not a competitor,” Milroe said. “I love football. I love everything about it. The highs. The lows. The failures. The disappointments. You have to love football. It is part of the game. It was my first start, man. It is a great opportunity to build upon it. I am just excited to keep on competing and keep on getting better.”
(Top photo: Jeff Hanisch / Imagn Images)
