Getty The Seahawks could considered a potential trade for Ravens QB Lamar Jackson.
The Seattle Seahawks could target one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
According to former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman — best known for his stint with Seattle from 2011 until 2017 — Seattle could pull off a blockbuster trade swap with the Baltimore Ravens. In Sherman’s scenario, the Seahawks would trade current starting quarterback Geno Smith in exchange for Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Sherman proposed the following scenario during his podcast for The Volume.
“What if a crazy scenario happened… and the Seattle Seahawks called the Baltimore Ravens and said ‘Hey, we wouldn’t pay Geno that kind of money (which would be great and they may do that),” proposed Sherman. “But we would pay Lamar.’ Lamar in Seattle and Geno in Baltimore?”
Both Lamar Jackson and Geno Smith Will Be Free Agents
Both Smith and Jackson are due to be free agents this offseason. In any potential trade scenario involving both teams, each player would have to re-sign with their current clubs.
As far as personnel fit is concerned, Smith has four years worth of experience in Pete Carroll’s system — but Jackson is a much more dynamic and younger quarterback.
The 26-year-old Jackson is the youngest MVP award winner in NFL history, having won the award at the age of 22 back in 2019. Although Jackson has dealt with injuries in recent years — a knee injury sidelined him at the end of this season, including the team’s playoff game — he still remains effective when on the field.
The two-time Pro Bowler led the Ravens to an 8-4 record in his starts, throwing 17 touchdowns while running for 764 yards in just 12 games. Despite missing five games, Jackson had the second-most rushing yards of any quarterback in the league (764). That’s a trait that Smith just does not possess in his game.
On the other end of the spectrum, Smith is probably a more crisp passer. However, we’re going off of one season of work, considering Smith hadn’t served as a starter since the 2014 season with the New York Jets.
During’s Smith’s breakthrough season in 2022, the 32-year-old clinched his first Pro Bowl berth while leading the league in completion percentage (69.8 percent) and throwing 30 touchdowns to go along with 4,282 passing yards. According to Spotrac, Smtih’s projected market value is $39.3 million per year across two seasons, which would make him the ninth-highest paid QB in the league.
According to Spotrac, Jackson’s projected market value is just $40.7 million — just a shade higher than Smith’s projected contract.
When evaluating the contract projections for both quarterbacks, you’re getting more value in Jackson than you would be in Smith due to age and pure ability.
While the idea of the Seahawks not wanting to pay Smith — who has one proven year on his resume — nearly $40 million a year is a real concern, the question is, do the Ravens and Jackson really want to move on from each other?
Seahawks Would Likely Have to Trade Top-5 Pick for Lamar Jackson
As Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post reports, an ideal trade scenario sees the Ravens trading Jackson out of the AFC while recouping heavy draft capital, including a top-10 pick in the upcoming draft.
“For starters, those executives believe getting Jackson out of the AFC would be ideal for Baltimore and that landing some proven young talent in return — not only draft picks — would be the Ravens’ preference,” said La Canfora.
“And, obviously, landing a top-10 pick in the upcoming draft would be appealing, to say nothing of other high draft picks,” concluded La Canfora.
If Jackson really does want to move on from the Ravens, it’s hard not to envision the Seahawks as an ideal landing spot. In a possible trade scenario, Seattle would have to give up draft capital — they already possess a No. 5 pick via the Russell Wilson trade — in order to land the former MVP.
Considering the Seahawks feature plenty of draft capital and are in the NFC, they could emerge as a sudden potential landing spot for Jackson.