Breaking news:QB future with Seahawks uncertain following Pete Carroll demotion

QB Geno Smith’s future with Seahawks uncertain following Pete Carroll demotion

Brady Henderson of ESPN reports that quarterback Geno Smith may not return to the Seahawks in 2024. After all, Smith’s longtime mentor and strongest supporter, Pete Carroll, has been reduced to an advising position and has often diverted criticism from the seasoned passer. The final decision on personnel matters now rests with General Manager John Schneider, whose assessment of Smith’s performance was not as positive as Carroll’s.

 

 

Schneider declared last month that he thought Geno had a strong season. It was

somewhat the reverse of [2022]. He had a great start to the previous year, but

things kind of soured in the second half. And then I believed that he didn’t begin

the year quite as strong as last year and had a really impressive finish.

Henderson, whose article was released prior to Seattle’s appointment of Mike Macdonald as head coach, mentioned that Schneider will undoubtedly talk about Smith’s future with his new head coach. Smith was praised by Macdonald during his inaugural news conference, which he described as having “great respect” for.

 

“We’ve faced Geno,” Macdonald continued (through the team’s official website). “He plays the game pretty well. He’s probably at the Pro Bowl right now. Our strategy will center on the quarterback. You must.

 

In an attempt to avoid giving anything away, Macdonald did not state clearly that Smith would be the quarterback the Seahawks would be constructing around. Additionally, the organization is currently looking for a new offensive coordinator, who will also have to having a say in the situation. Henderson, though, thinks Smith has a strong chance of becoming Seattle’s starting quarterback again.

If the team chooses to go in a different direction, Henderson believes a trade is more likely than a release. Smith’s $12.7M salary for 2024, currently guaranteed for injury only, converts to a full guarantee on Feb. 16. That is effectively the deadline to cut Smith, but not necessarily to trade him. After all, he is not due his $9.6M roster bonus until March 17 — the fifth day of the new league year — and by that time, the team will have had the chance to explore the quarterback options it might have in this year’s draft (to say nothing of getting some sort of trade compensation from an acquiring club).

 

As Schneider observed, Smith performed well down the stretch of the 2023 season,

although he was unable to match the overall production of his breakout 2022

performance. In 2022, Smith led the league in completion percentage (69.8)

and threw for 30 TDs against 11 interceptions, which amounted to a 100.9

quarterback rating and 62.8 QBR. In two fewer games in 2023, the former second-

round pick of the Jets completed 64.7% of his passes for 20 touchdowns and nine

picks, leading to a quarterback rating of 92.1 and a QBR of 59.5. If Macdonald &

Co. can help Smith marry the first half of his 2022 campaign with the second half

of his 2023 season, they may be on to something.

If Smith were to leave the Seahawks, Drew Lock would be the most probable choice to take over as starting quarterback, at least temporarily. Lock is scheduled to enter free agency in March. Schneider has always had a lot of faith in the 27-year-old, who played a significant role in the comeback in the 2022 blockbuster that saw Russell Wilson traded from Seattle to the Broncos. However, as Henderson notes, the fact that Lock is starting would suggest that the Hawks see 2024 as a year of retooling, which runs counter to Schneider’s assertion that his team is “on the cusp” of a legitimate championship contender.

Lock considers himself as a starter and will look for such an opportunity if he

reaches the open market, as stated by Armando Salguero of Outkick.com in a

post published at the end of December. In 2023, Lock started two games in place

of an injured Smith, completing 68.8% of his passes for three touchdowns and two

interceptions. In seven games, he was winless; his lone triumph came in Week

15 thanks to an outstanding late-game rally against the Eagles.

 

Smith is expected to pay a $31.2 million cap charge this year and is under club control through 2025. Henderson says

the Seahawks might try to turn portion of Smith’s salary and/or roster bonus into

a signing bonus in order to lower that figure if they decide to go with him.