'I Can Play Past 40!' Seahawks QB Geno Smith Sets Lofty Goal
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith hit the ground running last season after taking over from Russell Wilson as the team's starter.
Not many gave the Seahawks any chance of making the playoffs, but with Smith at the helm, that's exactly what they did. Smith had a career year that saw him throw for 4,282 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Now, he enters his second offseason as the starting quarterback as OTA's get started, and he's feeling good. But how good?
"I do feel I can play past 40," Smith said. "Obviously, a lot of hard work is going to go into that. I'm striving for it, but we'll see."
Having been in the league for nine years, some feel that Smith's career at the age of 32 is just getting started. We have seen the longevity of quarterbacks, with Tom Brady playing until he was 45, and Aaron Rodgers, who is 40 and just switched over to the New York Jets.
But after a season that saw Smith break several franchise records and become a Pro Bowler for the first time in his career, does this offseason feel different to any others he's encountered?
"In my mind, no," Smith said. "If it is different, I'm just going to work harder to get better. That's really it. But in my mind, I feel the same mentality. Drew [Lock] and I, and Holton [Ahlers], we're competing our butts off. There's competition every day, so we're trying to see who's the best quarterback out there on the field every time."
Smith is the starter, make no mistake. And after catching the league by surprise last season, the Seahawks could be coming next season.
Acquiring cornerback Devon Witherspoon and offensive weapons in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zach Charbonnet via the draft, the Seahawks' rebuild post-Russell Wilson has clicked into overdrive.
But as far as Smith playing until he is 40 years old? We will let the cake bake on that one.
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