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What the Geno Smith Trade Means for the 49ers

The quarterback market will be fascinating to watch this offseason.
Grant Cohn|
Dec 26, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) looks to pass against the Chicago Bears during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images
Dec 26, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) looks to pass against the Chicago Bears during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images | Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

Geno Smith just left the NFC West. What does this mean for the 49ers?

On Friday, the Seahawks traded Smith to the Raiders for a third-round pick. Smith reportedly wants an extension that would pay him between $40 million and $45 million per season, which was too expensive for the Seahawks, apparently, but not too expensive for the Raiders. They're expected to give Smith an extension.

This isn't the best news for the 49ers for a couple reasons.

1. They own Geno. He's 1-5 in his career against the 49ers and that includes a loss in the playoffs. The Seahawks most likely will sign someone who's better than Smith, someone such as Sam Darnold, or they'll draft a quarterback who will be significantly cheaper than Smith (and Brock Purdy assuming he gets an extension). So the Seahawks should get better.

2. If the Raiders give Smith an extension that's worth $45 million per season, Purdy almost certainly will demand an extension that's worth no less than $50 million per season. And the 49ers might not want to pay him that much. Their initial offer reportedly is $45 million per season. Perhaps they don't think he's significantly better than Smith.

Smith's extension and Darnold's extension could price the 49ers out of the quarterback market, which means they could listen to trade offers for Purdy and draft his replacement. Or sign Aaron Rodgers.

The quarterback market will be fascinating to watch this offseason.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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