The Seahawks enjoyed a surprising level of success this season, with their transition to Geno Smith under center leading to a postseason berth and massively boosting the veteran’s free agent value. Both parties have already begun the process of negotiating a new contract which will keep him in Seattle.
Head coach Pete Carroll confirmed that “preliminary talks” have been held between the Seahawks and Smith. The latter won out the team’s preseason QB competition (something he was not expected to do), and wound up playing every snap of the season en route to a Pro Bowl nod and multiple franchise passing records. His performance in Seattle’s Wild-Card loss to San Francisco – in which he committed two turnovers – did not dissuade the team from attempting to keep him in 2023 and beyond. 
“He had an excellent game for us in that game,” Carroll said, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “And even though the turnovers 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… 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. That, along with returning him with his leadership factor that he had, he’s a big deal to us, and I just couldn’t be more tickled by the way the whole thing turned out and how he handled it. And really as we look to the future, he’s a big part of why we look to the future more promisingly.”
Smith played out the 2022 season on a one-year, $3.5MM contract; incentives allowed him to double his earnings for the year. He will significantly outpace that figure on a new contract of any kind this offseason, though his uninspiring stint as a starter with the Jets, and the years spent strictly as a backup which followed, make the 32-year-old an interesting case study. Seattle also has the option of using the franchise tag to keep in him place on a one-year deal (or at least extend the window to continue negotiations into July).
Talks between the sides come against the backdrop of backup Drew Lock also heading into free agency. The former Broncos second-rounder was expected to win the summer QB competition, but wound up sitting the entire campaign due to Smith’s success. Carroll doubled down on his compliments of Lock, repeating that he hopes to have the 26-year-old back in the Emerald City next year.
By virtue of the Russell Wilson trade, however, Seattle owns the fifth overall pick in the upcoming draft. That could provide the team with an opportunity to land a long-term answer at the position, something which may be less likely now than it would have seemed before the campaign. Carroll nevertheless called this year’s class of passers “extraordinary” and acknowledged the rarity of having the draft capital the team currently does as it relates to drafting franchise QBs.
Regardless of the Seahawks’ plans down the road, their ability to keep Smith under contract for at least 2023 is shaping up to be their top offseason priority. Their success in the negotiations to come will likely dictate their other moves in free agency and the draft.
Geno is a success story. Hard-working guy who has paid his dues. Glad he’s found success in Seattle
Imagine that – pairing a QB with good wide receivers makes him successful. The Jets and Packers should take note.
Ummm… The Jets have a great rookie wide receiver and others who are capable. The current “franchise quarterback” was not able to get them the ball enough. Decent QB play would have gotten them into the playoffs despite injuries ravaging the o-line. Mike White played better than Zach Wilson, but he played hurt his last two games.
The Jets had plenty of receiving talent. That’s not the problem with Zach Wilson.
The Jets have bad WRs. Try being a Bears fan.
One of those “bad WRs” just made the All-Rookie team.
The easy answer is to sign him to a two-year contract if he’s willing (he may not be with other suitors) or tag him and then draft his replacement. The risk of having him return to pre-2022 form has to be a real concern.
You just can’t possibly tag Geno. He played great yes, but the tag will cost 45.25 Million dollars….. Geno Smith wouldn’t command that contract over 5 years let alone paying him that for jus one….
Lol, Geno is likely going to get a 4 year/$80 million, but it won’t be from Seattle. If they can get him for 18 per on a 3year/$54million that would work for the Hawks.
Then you make it a transition tag and let someone else outbid you (and get a pick if they do). The point I was making is he’s not a long-term solution and they may not get a pick that high in the next few years to draft a high-potential QB.
I thought the transition tag doesn’t exist anymore?
The transition tag for QBs in 2023 is listed as $30,402,000, according to several reliable sports websites.
$30M is also a huge overpay, even for this season. I hate to say it but Seattle has more holes than we want to admit. It’s not a QB away from perennial contention. They should trade down from 5, gain a first next year and work on adding to the front 7 on defense.
They already have 2 first round picks this year. Last year’s draft was a huge success and resulted in numerous starters
NFl contracts are not like baseball contracts. Whatever the year and amount says the guarantee part is important. There is an out. Derek carr signed 3 year 120 but second year they have an out with only 5m dead cap. We can sign Geno whatever years as long as he will keep the guarantee and total reasonable. 4y 80m is actually a great deal for Seattle. That will be pretty much half of what top guys make and top top guys will be almost three times to the cap. Not like maholmes had three times the production. That’s a deal for the hawks
Saying Smith wasn’t expected to win the starting job and that Lock was, pretends that there was even a competition. Smith had 1st team reps the entire time.
It is also important to note Smith was given the job coming off a January 10 2022 DUI where he beligerently resisted arrest and insulted police.
Sure, he performed better than expectations this year. Still, I hope they draft someone I can be proud to cheer for to replace him.
He looked like a guy who could win you games in the regular season but a playoff bust.
Man do I love Geno. But, we have an opportunity to take an elite talent at that position this April. It’s hard to ignore. If not for our draft capital, I would be all in on extending Geno. But you have this rare opportunity at your fingertips RIGHT NOW.
Personally, I think Genos the ideal candidate for the franchise tag; let’s get him paid, keep him in tow for a year, and take one of the several high talent young qbs in the draft to compete with and learn from him
Exactly. If anyone was made for the franchise tag it’s Geno.
Geno wasn’t even close to made for the franchise tag. You cannot pay him 45 Million dollars to hope he plays as good as this season. It’s not like you tag him and he plays for free, he wouldn’t get paid 45 mil over 4 years let alone all in one season….
$32M for NEFT
I completely agree they should draft a qb this year but the franchise tag will be very high next season. And what if Smith has another great year? Suddenly, he’d be a lot more expensive than If they signed him to a more affordable 2-3 year deal now.
Sodo there is one QB who is a great talent and one who will be good probably. There of course will be the guy who plays way above his draft slot but who will that be? Seems to happen almost every year. There will be maybe 4 QBs next year as good or better.
If Seattle does anything with Geno it should be transition tag him and hope he gets signed. Either way you get a pick or aQB back for next year. You have to overpay for him for one year but they have the cap space.
I have said it multiple times. That 5 pick can be a highly sought after pick. There are 5 teams after us out of 6 who are looking for a QB. If the top 2 go Levi could be the next QB to go. How many of those teams will want the chance to get him?
We trade out of that pick for a slot 1-5 spots down get a 1st next year and use those picks to move up to get a better QB than we will this year. Pete love’s trading picks so this is in his wheelhouse.
We have some great picks this year. If we can come close to having the same draft as last it will put us in a great spot until all these guys come up in FA. Let’s wait a year if Geno is gone let Lock play next year or sign a FA that will start a year then play the next until the rookie is ready. Those 2 turnovers were a bit of a theme the last half of the year.
Pete said he was not trading Wilson the day before he traded him. You can’t believe what he says. Hopefully he is more honest with the players. I don’t think we want to have Smith for 4 years a big gamble. Remember Pete doesn’t think you can win the SB with a high paid QB I doubt they will pay him what others will. If he signs before everyone can bud on him he should fire his agent.
There is no sure talent at QB this year. And none of them actually have more upside than Geno. Check before jumping on QB draft. If you wanna groom a young guy just go with drew lock he has more upside than these guys. Bryce young is 5 11. And he can’t even run like Wilson. Cj stroud played in a one read dump off play book with two first round receivers and first round OT. Same with Bryce young his team is way more talented than the other. Will Levi’s and Anthony Richardson didn’t even complete 60 percent of passes. Not wasting fifth pick with a two year or more project. No Ohio state QB was succesful in nfl if anyone wanna say cj stroud is talented. He’s shorter than Geno and slower. Just a bit more live arm. He’s Jared Goff at best. And even if a rookie QB is gonna be good don’t think everyone will support him forever. Once they get paid they become a big ball and chain on your team. Let’s draft a QB is super disrespectful. And if the guy is a bust no one will admit they said let’s draft a QB
With all the draft QB people it’s not like we have the first pick. There can be three of them off before we pick if bears trade their pick. That’s not premium talent. Do we wanna be in a Trey lance situation ? Let’s give Geno the chance until he’s proven to not work. He will take a good deal for the team. Think about all the rookies that didn’t work. Think about all the pissed off players that love Geno on the team. Football doesn’t work like madden franchise mode. If we get a QB later round to groom. Not with our top pick where we can add quality talent on the defense. If a pass rusher we pick ain’t nick bosa but cliff Avril are we really gonna complain that much?
I like geno, he plays the QB position the way it’s supposed to be played. He doesn’t play like he’s a wannabe RB like certain QB’s do
Good point but throw out the rules in the playoffs.
The media is cracking on the Vikings DC but I’m thinking he had called the right base most of the game. The Giants QB had the talent to scramble successfully 17 times. QBs like Cousins who will pass the ball for no gain doesn’t see the big picture when it comes to running.
That’s cos Cousins will throw a 3-yard out on 4th and 8.
3yr 75 million or franchise tag and trade. Imho
2/30M is just about all he’s worth, let another franchise pay him if they think he’s worth more. He’s not. This is like when the Jags signed Foles off of a 8 game sample.
It is? Geno had a whole season under center. He quietly set a new franchise record for yards in a season, as well as for passing percentage.
We would do well to re-sign him.
It was fun to watch and be a part of. But there’s no precedent. He’s been in the league almost 10 years, you can’t depend on him repeating his ONE good season. It is all he’s worth, and at that price is all the Seahawks should be interested in.
It’s nothing like the Foles situation…. Geno broke the franchise record for total yards and led the entire league in completion %. You’re also ignoring his good play when Wilson was hurt the year before
So you’ll willingly spend 30M+ on 19 football games at the age of 32? Count me out.
Even if his contract looks like 30m a year of guarantee is low it won’t hit the cap too much. It’s not straight up like basketball
You do realize there literally isn’t a single projected starter next year not on a rookie contract that would make anything close to 15 million. The lowest is Brady at 25 million
And Geno Smith shouldn’t make Brady money. In WHAT world??
Jets Fans:
“Had he only paid Enemkpali the $600 …”
He could have another crack in NY. Might be the best place for him. Maybe the Browns can do a 4 year $80 mill fully guaranteed.