That doesn't mean Seattle coach Pete Carroll will be looking outside the team for any potential answers even when it comes to the backup position.

"Josh Portis is here to play," Carroll said. "He's here to play football for us. Josh is a very talented kid, and if he's in the No. 2 spot, I'm going to get him ready to play. I'm not going to have any hesitation putting him in the game."

That's quite a vote of confidence in Portis, an undrafted rookie out of California University in Pennsylvania. Portis progressed quickly during training camp, going from someone who had to get comfortable taking snaps under center after playing in a spread offense in college to someone who showed he could make plays in exhibition games.

"I've seen enough of him," Carroll said. "I know what he can do. I think that the mode that we're in will really be exciting for him to be out there, and he'll be able to handle it. He's been doing no-huddle and 2-minute drills throughout camp and all, against the defense. He's going to cause problems for people if he plays. We've already seen it."

One of the challenges in developing depth at quarterback is that so many snaps in the week are dedicated to the starter that even the backup has a hard time getting ready, let alone a third-string quarterback like Portis.

"We're comfortable with him," Carroll said. "Who he is and what he's all about and how he handle things, and we know that he's capable and that he's a good communicator and all of that so we've just, our confidence in him is probably a lot higher just because we've been around him and know him better."