Geno Smith trade vaults Seattle Seahawks up cap space rankings

Geno Smith is no longer the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. The team unexpectedly dealt him to the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday night for a third-round pick, ending the three-year experiment with Smith at the reins.

In terms of Seattle's available cap space — and the potential to create more — all eyes were on a potential DK Metcalf trade, which would free up just under $11 million with a pre-June 1 trade, per Over The Cap. Metcalf requested to be dealt last week, creating questions about how the Seahawks' offense would look in 2025.

But the Smith trade only created more questions, especially about whether the team would now work harder to keep Metcalf. Seattle has approximately $62.5 million in available cap space after trading Smith, which ranks seventh in the NFL.

Smith was set to account for $44.5 million against Seattle's 2025 cap, per OTC, with a $31 million base salary. The salary cost has been transferred to the Raiders, while the Seahawks accrued $13.5 million in dead money. That brings Seattle to over $46 million in dead money next season, which is the sixth-most in the league.

A Metcalf trade before June 1 would bring the Seahawks to $73.4 million in available cap (fifth most) and about $67 million in dead money — the most in the NFL if the deal happened today.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) celebrates with quarterback Geno Smith (7) and wide receiver DK Metcalf. — Dec 4, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) celebrates with quarterback Geno Smith (7) and wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Seattle could free up more space simply by extending Metcalf instead of trading him. The team's offensive outlook would also be far less bleak than it currently is, which has Seattle with a bottom-5 offensive line, no quarterback and only NFL receiver with past premium production if Metcalf were dealt.

Of course, the team can shop around in free agency with ample money to spend, but there's no guarantee they will be a preferred landing spot with the recent moves. This year's NFL Draft class also isn't littered with receiver talent.

Even without a Metcalf trade, the team must focus its resources on finding help along the offensive line — something they didn't do during the Smith era, and an issue that has long needed to be addressed.

The additional money is a plus, but sending Smith to Las Vegas will be wasted if they don't begin focusing on the offensive front and putting together quality draft classes.

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