One-word label for Geno Smith from NFL pundit is harsh but fair

The reason that the Seattle Seahawks fired former head coach Pete Carroll was because they weren't satisfied with being just a "good" team. After three years as their starting quarterback, Seattle may eventually begin to feel the same about Geno Smith, whose performance has fallen somewhere between good (2022), average (2023) and just-below average (2024).

That means even though Smith is a brilliant thrower of the football, he's still only about an average starter compared to the rest of the NFL. Watching Smith ball on his best days it's hard to believe that, but there are a few too many bad days mixed in, and it all balances out. The numbers suggest Geno Smith is exactly average, and that's the one-word description Brad Gagnon at Bleacher Report came up with for Seattle's franchise QB.

B/R on "average" Geno Smith

"Is it even him? Not sure who else it could be right now, so the well-paid quarterback is here by default. But Smith really has become your typical middle-of-the-road quarterback. The league-wide passer rating in 2024 was 92.3. Smith’s rating the last two years? 92.7."

seahawks — Caption:Dec 26, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) warms up before a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. | Talia Sprague-Imagn Images

Numbers have been known to lie, though - and something feels off about calling him average. Going by passer rating that's where he belongs, but it's also a tough case to make that he isn't a better quarterback than some that ranked above him in this stat, including Bo Nix, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, Brock Purdy and Derek Carr.

Even if we did bump Geno ahead of those five names it would only put him at 14th in the league, which is once again in that good-but-not-quite-grade category that the Seahaws seem to find themselves in year after year.

Geno would probably vehemently argue against the idea that he's only "average," but even with all the necessary context about the lack of pass protection and questionable playcalling he's had to deal with it's getting hard to find a better word. Contrary to popular opinion, you can definitely win a Super Bowl with an average quarterback, but you'd better also have a damn-good defense and running game and your offensive line has to be a lot better than utterly terrible.

B/R on "average" Geno Smith

More Seahawks on SI stories