Geno Smith and Dak Prescott don’t have much in common as NFC rivals, but the two quarterbacks might both be able to say they played for the Seattle Seahawks.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell posted that he believed a number of teams could in line for Prescott if he leaves the Dallas Cowboys in free agency next offseason. The Seahawks were on that list.
“Writing about Dak this week. Giants, Seahawks, Jets, Steelers, Titans, Saints and Raiders seem like the obvious ones if their QB situations disappoint this year. Dolphins would be in the mix if the Tua deal doesn’t get done. Panthers would be a longshot if Young doesn’t improve,” Barnwell posted.
Of course, several factors would need to line up for such a move to the Seahawks to materialize.
First, Smith would need to disappoint in his first season with Mike Macdonald. Macdonald and/or general manager John Schneider would then need to push for a change at quarterback. Additionally, the Seahawks would need to decide that they don’t want to rebuild the position from scratch via the NFL Draft.
If that happens, they will need to pony up an arm and a leg for Prescott.
The Cowboys quarterback could be the first NFL player to command $60 million per season. As such, Seattle would need to essentially commit all of its resources to beating out the other potential half-dozen-plus teams in line for Prescott.
Seahawks’ past decisions risk forcing $60 million investment in Dak Prescott
Of course, the decision to go all-in with Prescott is only possible because the team elected to skip drafting quarterbacks over the last few years. That is notable because it seemed like drafting a quarterback would have been the appropriate move for the franchise after trading away Russell Wilson in early 2022. The team had two NFL Drafts with bonus top-60 picks and refused to use them on a premium quarterback prospect.
Instead of treating Smith like a bridge quarterback, they appeared to go all in on him. Smith hit his ceiling under Pete Carroll with a fringe playoff loss, but a big change could be coming.
Smith had a positive win-loss in both seasons with the Seahawks. The veteran went 9-8 in his first starting season with the franchise in 2022. Then, in 2023, he went 8-7 (he missed two games due to injury).
In 2022, he threw for 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In 2023, he saw a dropoff with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions. If he dips even lower this season, the Seahawks may have no choice but to move on.
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