Getty The Russell Wilson trade rumors are not going anywhere.
The Seattle Seahawks are re-signing Geno Smith, per ESPN’s Field Yates, with all signs pointing to the quarterback serving as Russell Wilson’s backup for the third straight season. Prior to Smith’s arrival, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll cycled through backup quarterbacks, but Smith has emerged as the team’s tenured player behind Wilson. After the news broke, Smith took to Twitter to celebrate his return to Seattle.
“Blessed with another opportunity to showcase all the hard work but it’s still just the beginning for me!” Smith tweeted. “God is writing this beautiful story and I’m thankful to be his vessel. Let’s go 12’s.”
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Smith Beat Out Gordon for the Seahawks Backup QB Job in 2020
Last offseason, the Seahawks brought in Washington State’s Anthony Gordon as an undrafted free agent to compete with Smith for the backup role. All indications are Smith won the training camp battle by a wide margin as Carroll praised the veteran quarterback leading up to the start of the season.
“He’s such a talented player, and he understands our stuff, and he fits in so well,” Carroll noted in August 2020, per Sports Illustrated’s Corbin Smith. “He’s really all we’re looking for there at that spot. He’s really good at it. In the supporting role for Russ, they communicate beautifully, they really count on each other for the input and the experiences that they’ve had. Geno is just a consummate guy in that role he’s playing.”
The Seahawks Could Still Draft a Quarterback
Smith’s return does not prevent the Seahawks from selecting a quarterback in the upcoming draft. Seahawks general manager John Schneider comes from former Packers GM Ron Wolf’s school of drafting, which puts an emphasis on selecting a quarterback each year.
Yet, the Seahawks have rarely brought in insurance at quarterback through the draft since selecting Wilson in 2012. During his 2017 pre-draft press conference, Schneider admitted the team likes having “one in the chamber” when it comes to multiple quarterbacks.
“No, it’s just happened that way,” Schneider explained prior to the 2017 NFL Draft. “It really has. I’ve always thought you need to have one in the chamber all the time and have a guy getting ready. It just hasn’t gone that way for us. I don’t know how to explain it to you. It’s just the way things have been stacked out for us. The quarterbacks, the level of play or the upside that we’ve seen or how they’re going to fit with us, it just hasn’t matched up, like from a round standpoint. That doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t happen. That’s a great question because it’s kind of like, yeah, you’re right, we haven’t [drafted a quarterback] and philosophically, that’s something you would want to try to do. The most important position on the field.”
If ever there were a year to select a quarterback, it would be 2021 given all the uncertainty surrounding Wilson’s future. Trade rumors may have died down, but Wilson’s long-term happiness still appears to be very much unsettled heading into next season.