Geno Smith has enjoyed a strong starting tenure in Seattle, and the 34-year-old is under contract through next season. He does not intend to hang up his cleats any time soon, though.

“My goal is to play 20 years,” Smith said during an interview with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. “My idol Kobe Bryant [and] another idol of mine, Tom Brady, they both were able to play 20 years. So, you know, that’s something I’m chasing. Honestly, I really feel like I can.”

2024 marks Smith’s 12th season in the NFL, so he has a long way to go to reach his goal. His career began with two underwhelming campaigns as a Jets starter, a span which was followed by several years without handling a full-time starting gig. The former second-rounder made only 15 appearances and five starts from 2015-21, and it appeared at that point he would not manage to land another opportunity to lead an offense.

Following the trade which sent Russell Wilson out of Seattle, though, Smith was positioned to compete for the starting gig with Drew Lock in 2022. The veteran wound up starting every game and helping guide the Seahawks to the playoffs en route to a Pro Bowl nod and Comeback Player of the Year honors. That earned him a new deal, although things did not go as planned last year.

This past offseason, new head coach Mike Macdonald incrementally committed to Smith as Seattle’s starter over trade acquisition Sam Howell. Through the first seven weeks of the 2024 campaign, Seattle sits at 4-3 with Smith leading the NFL in passing yardage (along with attempts and completions). The West Virginia product sought out an extension this summer, but no talks on that front took place. As things stand, he is set to earn $25MM next year, including a guaranteed base salary of $12.7MM. A raise in line with the QB market’s upward trend would not come as a surprise if Smith continued to deliver solid performances this year, while an extension would ensure he remained in the Emerald City moving forward.

“I prepare, I eat the right things and take care of my body so it allows me to you know still be fast at 34,” Smith added. “I guess I’m not supposed to, I don’t know, but you know I think when I’m in my forties I think I’ll still be fast.”

With respect to when his playing career does come to an end, Smith noted he intends to return to his alma mater in a coaching capacity. If all goes according to plan, however, it will be several years until he begins his next football chapter.

Hovering in largely unexplored territory on the quarterback salary spectrum, Geno Smith pursued a Seahawks extension this offseason. While the team adjusted the third-year starter’s deal, that came merely via a restructure. A more notable adjustment appears out of reach for the time being.

The Seahawks do not sound especially interested in extending a quarterback who has two years remaining on his current contract. GM John Schneider said (via The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar) it would be inaccurate to indicate the team talked extension terms with its current QB1 this offseason.

Smith is believed to have sought an an extension this offseason, but the Seahawks have him tied to what is now an incredibly team-friendly deal. After the Russell Wilson successor played another season for backup money (one year, $3.5MM) during his Comeback Player of the Year season, the Seahawks rewarded him with a three-year, $75MM extension. Although the contract represented a substantial raise at the time, a number of deals involving comparable quarterbacks have dwarfed where the Seahawks went for a player they had carried as a backup.

For both AAV and guarantees, this came in well south of where the Saints went for Derek Carr and Giants ventured for Daniel Jones during the 2023 offseason. Baker Mayfield‘s three-year, $100MM deal also created distance between the Buccaneers QB and Smith, whose $25MM average salary is on its own tier among starters — between the franchise-level arms and the Gardner Minshew/Sam Darnold level. Smith is the NFL’s 20th-highest-paid passer, but no one else is between Minshew’s $12.5MM AAV and Mayfield’s $33.3MM number.

Schneider’s comment on this matter pushes back on the previous report that indicated Smith’s camp did discuss a new deal with the team. At no point, however, has it appeared a new deal was imminent. Smith’s $25MM-per-year pact runs through the 2025 season, and the Seahawks have flexibility via no guarantees remaining on the accord beyond this year. New HC Mike Macdonald proclaimed Smith his starter early this offseason, and by remaining on Seattle’s roster in mid-February, the 12th-year veteran locked in $12.7MM guaranteed.

The Seahawks also restructured Smith’s contract, creating cap space and making it slightly more difficult to move on in 2025. Though, with no guarantees in the mix for next year, the team would only need to navigate $13.5MM in dead money were it to move on next year. This gives the team a season to evaluate Smith in Ryan Grubb‘s offense.

From Smith’s perspective, he is running short on time to capitalize on his newfound starter status. The former Jets second-rounder-turned-journeyman will turn 34 in October. The Seahawks passed on adding an heir apparent in 2023 or 2024, but this new coaching staff certainly could have such a move on the radar. Extending a player Pete Carroll brought in when two years remain on the deal does not seem a priority.

For now, the Seahawks have only Smith and trade acquisition Sam Howell in their quarterback room. The team added P.J. Walker this offseason but released the veteran backup earlier this week. Schneider did not rule out bringing Walker back, via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta, as it sounds like the team does plan on adding a de facto third-stringer at some point soon.

Geno Smith‘s stunning 2022 season prompted the Seahawks to re-sign him, authorizing a big raise. Smith’s current contract — initially reported as a three-year, $105MM deal — checked in much lower once the fine print emerged, and the team has flexibility due to the contract’s structure.

The resurgent quarterback agreed to a contract worth $75MM in base value, and it gave the Seahawks the option to move on without too much dead money in 2024. Although the Seahawks restructured the deal this offseason to lock in their starter for 2024, they could break free for just $13.5MM in dead cap in 2025. For a veteran starting quarterback, Smith is at the low end of the salary spectrum.

Following Smith’s agreement, the Saints gave Derek Carr a four-year, $150MM deal that featured $70MM in practical guarantees. Soon after, the Giants re-signed Daniel Jones on a four-year, $160MM pact that brought $81MM guaranteed. Kirk Cousins recently received a $100MM practical guarantee, with that Falcons accord coming soon after the Buccaneers re-upped Baker Mayfield at three years and $100MM ($50MM practical guarantee). These deals make Smith’s look quite team-friendly, and NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo said during a recent podcast with Pucksports.com the 12th-year QB has approached the team about an extension.

Smith’s camp talked about the deal with the Seahawks in the offseason, but it does not seem the team is too interested in an extension or a true adjustment. Nothing sounds imminent, and Garafolo mentioned incentives as a potential outcome to resolve this situation before Week 1. Smith is due $12.7MM in base salary this year and counts $26.4MM against Seattle’s cap. The Seahawks’ February restructure did not bring any void years, only inflating Smith’s 2025 cap hit to $38.4MM.

In mid-February, the Seahawks informed Smith he would remain on their roster past a Feb. 16 point in which his $12.7MM base would shift from guaranteed for injury only to a full guarantee. Smith is entrenched as Seattle’s centerpiece player this season, but no guarantees are in place for 2025. Considering a new coaching staff is now in place, the former second-round pick will likely need to prove himself again to secure a place on Seattle’s 2025 squad.

The Seahawks had Smith at just $3.5MM (plus incentives) in 2022, when he beat out Drew Lock to replace Russell Wilson. Smith’s Comeback Player of the Year showing produced a 9-8 record and he set a franchise record with 4,282 passing yards. Smith led the NFL with a 69.8% completion rate that year. In 2023, Smith’s completion rate dropped to 64.7, and his yards per attempt fell a bit — from 7.5 to 7.3 — as well. QBR still placed Smith 14th last season and seventh in 2022.

Smith will also turn 34 in October; he is running out of time to capitalize on his newfound value. But the Seahawks have him on an extraordinarily team-friendly pact. The ex-Jets draftee is essentially on his own tier, forming a lower middle class between the Mayfield-Carr-Jones level and the Gardner Minshew–Sam Darnold stopgap plane. Smith sits as the NFL’s 20th-highest-paid passer, with three others — Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love and Tua Tagovailoa — leapfrogging him by a monster margin thanks to joining the expanding $50MM-per-year club this summer.

Now holding final say after Pete Carroll‘s ouster, GM John Schneider can evaluate Smith’s fit in Ryan Grubb‘s offense before making a call. A potential extension could come to pass if Smith shows early progress under the former Washington Huskies play-caller, but a deal ahead of Smith’s age-35 season in 2025 would be highly unlikely to land on the top tier among QBs.

For now, the Wilson successor remains locked into a starting job — as the Seahawks passed on first-round QBs in 2023 and ’24 — and is poised to aim at improving his situation this season.

Throughout the 2024 offseason, signs have pointed to Geno Smith remaining atop the Seahawks’ quarterback depth chart for at least one more year. New head coach Mike Macdonald offered a firm endorsement of the veteran on Saturday.

Seattle lost backup Drew Lock to the Giants in a move which – unlike what Seahawks general manager GM John Schneider indicated – sets him up for another QB2 role. To fill the vacancy, the team traded for 2022 Commanders draftee Sam Howell. The latter served as Washington’s starter last season, but the team’s new front office and coaching staff is prepared to draft a replacement next month. Howell’s upside led some to believe he could challenge for the No. 1 role, but Macdonald said that will not be the case for now.

When asked if he anticipates a competition during an interview with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Macdonald said, “l don’t. I’ve talked to Geno about it. Very confident in Geno. Geno’s going to be our starter. Sam knows he’s going to be our backup, but Sam is a great young player, and he’s got a really bright future that we believe in.”

Seattle had a window of opportunity to trade Smith given the timing of bonuses in his contract. The team allowed his base salary to become fully guaranteed, however, and converted a roster bonus into a signing bonus in moves which suggested the 33-year-old would carry on as the starter. Smith has held that role for the past two seasons, and he earned Comeback Player of the Year honors after delivering a Pro Bowl performance in 2022.

Smith experienced a statistical downturn last year, (although his league-leading five game-winning drives produced another Pro Bowl invite), and after falling short of the postseason the Seahawks have undergone a massive change with Pete Carroll no longer on the sidelines. Macdonald will be tasked with overseeing a step forward on defense, but the Seahawks’ passing attack in particular will be worth watching on the other side of the ball. Smith will work with the first-team offense during the offseason as Macdonald begins his head coaching career.

Two years remain on Smith’s contract – the $75MM pact he secured after his successful run in 2022. Howell’s rookie contract also runs through 2025, so the Seahawks will have time to sort out their QB arrangement moving forward. While the latter projects as having higher upside given his age and play during parts of last season, it will be the former at the helm when the offseason program and, later, training camp begins.

9:26pm: The Seahawks may be ready to end the trade speculation. Schneider is believed to have informed Smith he will be on the roster on his current contract next season, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweets. Similar assurances in the recent past have led to some course changes; this does come two years after Pete Carroll said at the Combine the intention was not to trade Wilson. That said, the Seahawks appear to be planning for a third season with Smith at the controls.

10:36am: Entering the offseason, questions were raised about the Seahawks’ commitment to quarterback Geno Smith. Despite the veteran’s multi-year extension signed in the wake of his impressive 2022 showing, the team had a path to releasing or trading him with minimal cap penalties.

However, the recent moves made by Seattle point in the direction of Smith being retained for at least one more campaign. His $12.7MM base salary has already become fully guaranteed, and the team agreed to a restructure last week. As a result of that move, Smith’s roster bonus was converted to a signing bonus, saving 2024 cap space and accelerating a payment which was due next month.

Many had pointed to March 18 (the time at which Smith’s roster bonus was due to vest) as a deadline for Seattle to work out a trade sending Smith elsewhere. With that option now off the table, the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year is on track to remain the Seahawks’ starter. New head coach Mike Macdonald declined to offer a firm commitment in that respect before the restructure, but general manager John Schneider‘s remarks downplayed the significance of the financial maneuvering.

“Other people made a bigger deal out of that than we did in the building,” the latter said, via Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic (subscription required). “Is he gonna be here? Is he not gonna be here?’ He was going to be here. It’s a matter of when are we going to tell him we’re doing this with his roster bonus?”

Schneider added that Smith, 33, is atop Seattle’s depth chart “until he’s not.” Backup Drew Lock is a pending free agent, but he is expected to seek out a starting gig on the open market. Part of the Russell Wilson trade package, Lock made only a pair of starts during his Seattle tenure, something which could hinder his market. Schneider is believed to have played a central role in having the former second-rounder included in the Wilson deal, so a re-up could still be in the cards. On the other hand, Seattle taking the draft route is something Schneider also touched on.

The 14-year GM noted that the team’s track record of selecting only two passers in his tenure is “not something that we’re necessarily proud of,” leaving open the door to a draft addition this April. Seattle did homework on the top passers in last year’s class before ultimately selecting cornerback Devon Witherspoon fifth overall. The team still has first-round needs on defense which outweigh the urgency to draft a Smith successor, especially given his current financial situation. While Schneider declined to give the two-time Pro Bowler a full endorsement, his remarks point further toward stability under center for 2024.

Geno Smith was healthy enough to dress for Seattle’s win this past Monday, but he did not get the start. After consecutive games with Drew Lock under center, Smith is on track to return to the field.

Head coach Pete Carroll indicated after the Seahawks’ win against the Eagles that Smith was expected to get the start in Week 16 (h/t Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic). To little surprise, the veteran is now off Seattle’s injury report altogether, putting him on track to re-take the top spot on the QB depth chart to close out the season while the team pushes for a wild-card spot.

The Seahawks’ chances in that regard were helped by the last-minute comeback Lock orchestrated, but Smith’s return will give Seattle’s offense a boost. Last season’s Comeback Player of the Year has not had the same success he enjoyed in 2022, but he profiles as having a higher ceiling than Lock. Smith’s performances dipped during Seattle’s recent losing streak, so it will be interesting to see if he is able to rebound when back on the field.

Smith’s 2022 Pro Bowl campaign earned him a signficant raise on a new Seahawks deal. That three-year, $75MM pact includes performance escalators and scheduled bonus payouts both before and after the beginning of the 2024 league year. As a result, a short window will exist following the current season in which the team could move on with a limited cap penalty in search of a younger option under center.

Smith’s statistics have fallen closer to his career averages in 2023 after he put up personal bests across the board last year. Many members of the team’s offense from the 2022 campaign are still in place, and the addition of first-round wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba has created another option in the passing game. It would come as little surprise if Seattle were to eye a move to a new signal-caller in place of Smith, however, especially if his late-season performance match his other 2023 showings.

Sitting at 7-7, the Seahawks in the mix for an NFC wild-card berth, something which would duplicate the team’s achievement from last year. Smith will earn added praise if he can guide Seattle back to the postseason, though he could be playing for his long-term future in the Emerald City over the next few weeks.