The Seattle Seahawks have a massive question to ask themselves. That is whether the team feels as if it can be a winner this year or next. If not, then changes need to be made. That might include moving on from 34-year-old quarterback Geno Smith.
In the first part of the season, Smith kept Seattle in several games. The offense, through most of the first six games, was doing well enough to win games. In the last two weeks, mistakes have been abundant. Not all of that has been Smith's fault, but a lot of it has. Plus, he has to be the coach on the field, and he has failed in that aspect as well.
Smith's contract is up after 2025, but the team could save $25 million by releasing him next offseason. Backup Sam Howell is only owed a bit over $1 million next season, and he has starting experience in the league. He might be no better than Smith and might not lead Seattle to more wins, but he is at least far less expensive.
What appears clear, especially based on the first half of the Seahawks Week 9 game versus the Los Angeles Rams, is that Seattle is not going to go far in the postseason with Smith, even if the team somehow makes the playoffs. Too many simple mistakes are being made, and the offense is digressing as the season grows old.
Against the Rams, Smith was slow to get the ball away, watched - twice! - as the snap sailed by him, and he was inaccurate. In Week 8, there was a problem with the snap near the goal line of the Bills, but that was center Connor Williams' fault. Against the Rams, Williams was fine. The second failed snap was when the play-clock was running out, so Williams had to snap the ball. Smith simply did not catch the high snap.
The quarterback also was credited with an interception, but that wasn't actually his fault. The ball hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba in his arms, but JSN bungled the pass. It was one mistake that will show up in Smith's statistics, but shouldn't. The failed snaps won't, but should.
Can Sam Howell lead the offense better than Smith? Probably not. But if the Seahawks are going to remain mediocre then it might be worth seeing if Howell would make 2025 better. Smith is not a bad quarterback, but he also probably cannot get the team to be great, either. (At least Smith threw two touchdowns, but that only covers up so many long-term sins.)
