John Schneider: Seahawks Would 'Love' to Re-Sign Geno Smith, Drew Lock
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Nearly a year after trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos for a smorgasbord of draft picks, the Seahawks found unexpected success with a resurgent Geno Smith earning his first career Pro Bowl and guiding the team to the postseason.
With the offseason now in full swing, general manager John Schneider indicated on an interview with Ian Furness of KJR 93.3 Seattle on Wednesday that Seattle hopes to bring Smith and backup Drew Lock back into the fold in 2023. Both players are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents in March at the start of the new league year.
"Yes, we'd love to. That would be an ideal situation," Schneider said of the possibility of re-signing Smith and Lock.
Following a wild card round loss to the 49ers, Schneider said that he had a "great talk" with Smith during his exit interview and both sides made it clear that they have mutual interest in him staying in the Pacific Northwest.
But while negotiations with the veteran signal caller should ramp up soon, Schneider and the front office have placed an emphasis on examining the roster and figuring out an offseason game plan per usual at the end of a season. Once that process has been completed, attention will shift towards taking care of business and hopefully striking an agreement on a new contract with Smith.
“In terms of getting it done, it’s a process. Hope to get started here pretty quick," Schneider stated. "Had a little time here to evaluate our team and get settled and all the exit interviews and everything that goes into what happens when you get done playing. We’ll get to it as soon as we can and try to do what’s best for Geno and try to do what’s best for the organization.”
Beating out Lock, who arrived as part of the Wilson trade last March, for the starting job during the Seahawks offseason program and training camp, Smith enjoyed the finest year of his NFL career after spending seven seasons as a backup with three different organizations.
Thriving in coordinator Shane Waldron's offense, Smith set a new franchise record with 4,282 passing yards, finished fourth in the NFL with 30 touchdown passes, and led the league with a 69.8 percent completion rate. He was especially proficient throwing the deep ball, leading all quarterbacks with 14 touchdown passes of at least 20 yards through the air and posting a passer rating north of 120.0 on such attempts.
While Seattle rarely called designed runs for him, Smith also showed off his overlooked talents as a runner, rushing for 366 yards and more than five yards per carry on the season. On numerous occasions, his ability to create as a scrambler extended drives for the ninth-ranked scoring offense.
Looking to keep Smith after turning in such a strong season won't be a cheap matter for the Seahawks. Based off of market price for top tier starting quarterbacks, he could command as much as $35 million per year after earning a base salary of $3.5 million in 2022. If unable to strike a long-term deal, the team could consider using the non-exclusive franchise tag, which is estimated to be worth a fully guaranteed $32.4 million next season.
In the event Smith's price tag exceeds the team's willingness to pay, Seattle has other options to consider at quarterback, including re-signing Lock, who the organization remains high on despite not playing any regular season snaps last season. They could also potentially use the No. 5 overall pick acquired in the Wilson trade to draft a future franchise quarterback such as Ohio State's C.J. Stroud.
But while Schneider has previously indicated there would be a limit to how high Seattle could go to retain Smith due to budget constraints and other roster needs, he believes the veteran has earned the opportunity to cash in based on his stellar performance and after seeing how he excelled under the coaching of Pete Carroll and his staff, he's hopeful the two sides will work out a deal in the near future.
“Super proud of the way he competed and everything he did, especially once he was named the starter. Coach Carroll, probably one of the biggest strengths he has is instilling confidence in people. I thought it was just amazing the way he worked with Geno and the way Geno took his confidence and his leadership skills to another level. Then, the performance on the field speaks for itself.”
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