'We Got Our Guy': Seahawks Re-Signing Geno Smith a Top Priority?
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While acknowledging the two sides have plenty of business to address in coming weeks, coach Pete Carroll indicated the Seattle Seahawks view quarterback Geno Smith as their quarterback of the future and will be aiming to strike a deal with the pending free agent to ensure he stays in the Pacific Northwest.
Speaking with local media for the final time before heading into the offseason on Monday, Carroll told Mike Salk and Brock Huard on his weekly show on Seattle Sports 710 that Seattle has begun negotiations with Smith on a new contract. Later while speaking with reporters at the VMAC, he praised the Pro Bowler for his performance in a 41-23 loss to San Francisco on Sunday, reiterating he has everything Seattle needs to take the organization where it wants to go moving forward.
"He had an excellent game for us in that game," Carroll said when asked about Smith's outing, as he completed 25 out of 35 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns while also losing a crucial fumble and throwing an interception.
"Even though the turnovers happened - they happened - he played really well just to show you again that he’s on it and we got our guy. We need to hopefully work things out so he’s with us and all that. There’s business to be done there, of course. But there’s really no lid to what we can do. The sky’s the limit."
After beating out Drew Lock for the starting job in training camp, Smith blew all expectations out of the water, shockingly leading the Seahawks to a 6-3 start while completing north of 70 percent of his passes. Masterfully executing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's offense, he became only the third quarterback in team history to throw at least 30 touchdown passes, passed Russell Wilson for the most yardage in a single season in franchise history, and also led the league in completion percentage.
In addition, Smith finished fourth in the NFL in touchdown passes and fifth in passer rating, ranking near the top of the league in most notable categories while earning a base salary of $3.5 million. By leading Seattle to the playoffs and surpassing 4,000 passing yards, he earned an additional $3.5 million in incentives.
While Smith endured struggles turning the football over in the final two months and cited that concern as a clear area of improvement for him moving towards next season, Carroll saw more than enough from the veteran quarterback to believe he can get the job done as a long-term starter and sees his emergence as a key reason for optimism about the franchise's future.
"I just couldn’t be more tickled by the way the whole thing turned out and how he handled it," Carroll said of Smith's storybook season. "And really as we look to the future, he’s a big part of why we look to the future more promisingly.”
Following Saturday's defeat, Smith expressed his desire to stay with the Seahawks, telling reporters he wanted to "finish my career in Seattle" and felt he owed the team and city for believing in the former second round pick when he could have been out of the league after an unsuccessful stint as a starter with the Jets.
Now, the real question is, will Smith and the Seahawks get a deal done in the next couple of months? And how much money will he command in his first real opportunity to cash in during his 10-year NFL career?
Given Smith's gaudy production this season and the current cost of quality quarterbacks in the NFL, the ex-West Virginia star will likely be pushing for at least $32 million per year, which would equal the cost of the non-exclusive franchise tag. That's a hefty price hike after Seattle benefited from his bargain bin contract in 2022 and would represent a massive chunk of the team's estimated $42 million in available cap space per OverTheCap.com.
Of course, a multi-year deal would provide the framework for Seattle to massage the cap hit and create added financial flexibility to continue building the rest of the roster around Smith. If a deal cannot be reached and the non-exclusive franchise tag becomes the only way to prevent him from reaching free agency before the March 7 deadline, the team will be on the hook for a fully guaranteed $32.4 million.
On the plus side, slapping the expensive tag on Smith would all but ensure he would be in a Seahawks uniform next season, as it's highly improbable another team would try to sign him to an offer sheet in exchange for two first round picks as compensation.
If Seattle doesn't want to go the franchise tag route and negotiations reach an impasse, while unlikely considering Carroll's comments, the team does have other alternatives at quarterback to contemplate.
Holding the No. 5 overall pick courtesy of the blockbuster Wilson trade with Denver, a signal caller could be selected if general manager John Schneider falls in love with a prospect at the position. Among those expected to be drafted early in April, Alabama's Bryce Young and Ohio State's C.J. Stroud declared early and per Carroll, the Seahawks will be doing their due diligence evaluating incoming rookie quarterbacks in the next few months.
“If we didn’t have a quarterback that functioned really well, it might’ve been a little bit different," Carroll said of the draft process with a top five selection. "The quarterbacks in this draft are extraordinary players. You don’t get opportunities like this. We are really tuned in to all of those options.”
Additionally, while he lost the competition to Smith and didn't play a single regular season snap, Carroll has talked up Lock on several occasions in recent weeks. Acquired as part of the Wilson trade last March, the Seahawks have liked what they have seen from him developing on the practice field and would like to bring him back if possible.
But with Lock being only 26 years old and set to become an unrestricted free agent himself, assuming Smith re-signs with Seattle as both sides hope to accomplish, the former second round pick will test the market to see what other options he has. If another situation presents a better chance to compete for a starting job elsewhere, he will understandably pursue that opportunity with the goal of seeing the field next year.
“Drew was as positive as you could hope a guy would be that didn’t get a chance to play. He had a really good experience," Carroll said. "He worked great with the coaches, we really appreciated his talent, his work ethic, and even more so, his mentality and support of Geno (Smith). He and Geno were buddies through the whole thing. They helped each other, and Sean Mannion was part of that as well. He doesn’t know what is coming up, so we have to wait and see, but we would love to have him back and keep growing with him.”
Ultimately, the Seahawks have great flexibility when it comes to the quarterback position. Whether Smith re-signs or not, such a move wouldn't curtail them from drafting a quarterback to develop, bringing Lock back as his backup, or reaching into a quality pool of veterans expected to be available in free agency, depending on how they view the outlook of the position long term.
But if Carroll's words from the past few days are to be taken at face value, Smith remains entrenched in the center of the organizational blue print as Seattle aims to take the difficult next step from fringe playoff team to viable Super Bowl contender. As the two sides initiate preliminary talks, time will tell how quickly they can get a new deal done, which will create a domino effect for how they execute the rest of their offseason agenda in free agency and the draft.
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