Keeping Geno Smith Expensive For Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks would be paying the price by keeping Geno Smith on the roster.

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

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith carries a $44.5 million cap hit next season, which is a hefty price for a player that has yet to win a playoff game.

That being said, Smith did have a decent year for the Seahawks in his third season as the starter. He completed over 70 percent of his passes and threw for a career-best 4,320 yards and 21 touchdowns against 15 interceptions.

At 34 years old, Smith is a decent quarterback, but he isn't someone the Seahawks are likely planning to keep around for the long haul.

The Seahawks may have an out this offseason with him, and they should consider taking it.

"Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald recently said he saw no reason that Geno Smith wouldn't be back in Seattle next season. In reality, there are about 31 million reasons why the Seahawks could ultimately decide to move on from the quarterback. That's how much of his $44.5 million cap hit they could free up if they were to move on from him," Bleacher Report writes.

"That's not saying it's likely. This was his least productive season as a starter for Seattle, but he still went 10-7 as the starter. Considering the general lack of depth in this rookie quarterback class, this might not be the year to dump a proven vet and draft his successor.

"However, the potential cap savings and search for a new offensive coordinator does present an opportunity to shuffle the deck on offense."

The Seahawks don't quite have a better solution compared to Smith, which may be the best reason to keep him. However, moving on from Smith and giving Sam Howell a true chance to start in his final year under his rookie deal could be a solution that could net Seattle some improvement.

Howell was a full-time starter in 2023, and he was traded to the Seahawks a little less than a year ago to give the team some insurance if Smith wasn't good enough. Well, Smith did just good enough to warrant keeping him around, but not enough to produce any meaningful playoff results.

It's a catch-22 situation. The Seahawks face struggles by taking either path, so they may as well take the one that's more familiar. Going with Smith under center is certainly less risky, but if the Seahawks were to push the envelope and ditch him for Howell (or someone else on the open market or draft), they may be able to net better results than before.

The Seahawks could also crash and burn by cutting Smith, but at least they will find a way out of purgatory and acquire the draft picks necessary to truly build into a top-tier contender once again.

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