The biggest decision the Seattle Seahawks will make in the coming weeks is what to do in regards to their quarterback situation. Geno Smith is entering his fourth year as Seattle's starter in the post-Russell Wilson era. That's a pretty long time to qualify as a bridge quarterback, which has been the most-common characterization for Geno's tenure as the Seahawks' QB1.
Smith is also going into the final season of the three-year contract extension he signed after the 2022 season. That means it's decision time for the Seahawks front office, who find themselves well over the salary cap ceiling going into the offseason and needing to radically improve their offensive line.
A new deal for Geno Smith would help get that done - as another extension would save the team a little under $24 million in cap space. However, there's no guarantee that the two sides will agree to a dollar amount on a new deal. If there is no new contract in place, one NFL insider isn't sure if Geno will agree to play out the last year of his current deal. Here's how Albert Breer at Sports Illustrated answered a fan question about the situation.
"Curtis, I know Smith’s looking for a little bit of a commitment from the team as he gets closer to the final year of the three-year deal he did two offseasons ago... The question, then, is what the number is for Smith on an extension, and whether he’s good with playing out his contract year if he doesn’t get it. We’ll see."
Breer does seem to be pretty plugged in with Geno Smith, so we shouldn't just dismiss this idea as mere speculation.
Smith's own behavior indicates that there's some dissatisfaction on his part about not getting a new contract. Remember, Smith wanted to negotiate a new deal going into last season but the Seahawks refused to talk about it.
Since then, Geno has shared a few posts suggesting he might want to move on, including a graduation photo in one Instagram post and another photo of Smith with former head coach Pete Carroll, who's now head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders and in desperate need of a QB upgrade.
