The 2024 NFL season is over, and now the Seattle Seahawks have to decide how to approach 2025. Several huge decisions loom over the front office, foremost among them being what to do with starting quarterback Geno Smith. He's entering the final year of his contract and will want another one. Some analysts have been brutally hard on Smith for his interception issues this past season, but others still see him as a well-above average starter.
The best quarterback ranking we've seen this offseason comes courtesy of NFL.com, which ranked all 59 quarterbacks who started a game this year. Count them as fans of Geno's game, because he came in at number 12 on their list.
NFL.com on ranking Geno Smith 12th
"Smith's 2024 season proved what we saw from him in 2023 wasn't a fluke. He's a veteran with an incredibly accurate arm, who's capable of making big-time throws with zero fear (check the Atlanta tape for proof) and going toe to toe with the league's best when the moment calls for it. Sometimes, though, those successes led Smith to trust himselftoo much, resulting in some crushing (and costly) mistakes."
Smith does occasionally push his aggressiveness dial too high, and it results in the kind of picks we saw throughout he 2024 season. He went through similar stretches in 2022 and 2023 but was able to play out of it in those cases.
Smith wasn't able to this year, but we feel that had more to do with the constant pressure he was under - both literally the pressure in the pocket thanks to poor pass protection as well as the pressure of having to carry the entire offense thanks to Ryan Grubb abandoning the run game.
Flawed as he is, Smith is still incredibly accurate and his aggressive instincts are still preferable to a more conservative approach that some veterans have. This ranking is incredibly fair-minded, especially having the guts to place Brock Purdy outside the top 10 and Bryce Young at 16 thanks to his late-season surge. We feel it's a fair ranking for Smith and a sign that the Seahawks shouldn't rush into trying to find his replacement - especially because this is a bad year to start over at QB.
It sounds like the Seahawks want Smith back, and that is probably the best approach to take for now. Until a younger, better option presents itself or Smith totally falls off he represents their best chance to win from week to week.
