The Seattle Seahawks saw their unlikely comeback efforts fall short in Sunday night’s primetime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Seattle trailed 17-7 late in the third quarter but rallied to force overtime before ultimately falling to a grim 2-4. Seattle’s poor start to the season has been magnified by their competition in the NFC West, a division that appears to be the best in all of pro football.

Desperate times often call for desperate measures. The Seahawks sent shockwaves around the football world on Monday morning when head coach Pete Carroll admitted to “having conversations” with acclaimed free agent quarterback Cam Newton.

On the surface, it's easy to understand why the Seahawks are doing their due diligence on the former league MVP. Starting quarterback Russell Wilson is currently on injured reserve with a finger injury and will not return until Week 10 at the earliest. Seattle can hardly afford to continue losing ground to the likes of the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams, and can't afford to leave a stone unturned.

But the honest truth is that Newton isn't the answer to their problems. Backup signal-caller Geno Smith has performed admirably in Wilson's absence, completing 33-of-49 passes for 340 yards, two touchdowns, and two turnovers in what's been an inspiring six quarters of football by the former West Virginia standout. It's worth noting that Smith's two turnovers came in crucial stretches of each contest, but his play has largely put Seattle in positions to win back-to-back football games. His 67% completion percentage is the representation of a quarterback that's been accurate while making good decisions with the football. All this to say, the quarterback position isn’t the problem.

The Seahawks continue to let themselves down with horrid defensive play, vanilla play-calling on offense in crucial moments, and an offensive line that can’t block anybody in pass protection. Much has been made of Seattle's poor defensive performances, and every word of criticism has been earned. They continue to give up a league-worst 433.2 yards of offense per game while failing to disguise their post-snap defensive plans.

There’s also the matter of how to metaphorically treat Newton once Wilson makes his highly-anticipated, triumphant return. There would be no quarterback controversy to be had. Seattle goes as far as Wilson takes them. Newton, who recently admitted to being a “distraction” when serving as a backup quarterback, would quickly find himself in the same awkward position Bill Belichick deemed unworthy of dealing with just weeks ago.

Everyone in Seattle must hold themselves accountable as they search for a recipe to both coach and play better in the crucial weeks ahead. Newton isn't going to help them achieve either of those objectives right now.