Getty Geno Smith still has two seasons remaining on a $75 million contract beyond 2023.
The Seattle Seahawks are in year two of the Geno Smith experience and the quarterback has a chance to be the team’s long-term solution after signing a three-year, $75 million contract this past offseason. Smith’s deal gives the Seahawks some flexibility if Seattle wants to go in a different direction as soon as 2024 based on the contract’s structure.
Bleacher Report outlined potential moves for each team to make including an offseason to-do list. The outlet is pushing Seattle to target Washington star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the 2024 NFL draft to keep the playmaker in Seattle.
“Geno Smith likely isn’t Seattle’s quarterback of the future, as last week’s 112-yard, one-touchdown performance highlighted,” Bleacher Report detailed on September 18, 2023. “While Smith was better in Week 2, the Seahawks still need to be at least looking at other options in the draft.
“Luckily, the Seahawks just have to look down the road to find Smith’s eventual replacement. Penix has a big arm to complement their speedsters out wide and would be a good fit in their offensive scheme.”
NFL Draft 2024: The Seattle Seahawks May Be Able to Land Michael Penix Jr. Outside the First Round
Penix is an interesting target because the Huskies quarterback is not a lock to be selected in the first round. Seattle could potentially draft Penix to initially sit behind Smith.
USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye are the early favorites to be the first two quarterbacks selected in the 2024 NFL draft. There appears to be a wide-open race for QB3 with Penix competing with other top quarterback prospects like Duke’s Riley Leonard, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders among others.
Penix is already putting up crazy numbers through Washington’s first three games. The playmaker has posted 1,332 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and an interception while completing 74.3% of his attempts during this stretch.
Pete Carroll on Michael Penix Jr. Being an NFL QB: ‘I Don’t Think There’s Any Doubt’
We already know Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is an admirer of Penix’s game. During a November 28, 2022 interview with Seattle Sports’ “Brock and Salk,” Carroll discussed Penix’s strength as a quarterback describing the Huskies star as “really impressive.”
“Oh, I think he’s terrific,” Carroll said at the time. “I saw him earlier in the year. I was there at the Arizona game [on October 15]. He’s poised, he’s strong, he’s accurate. He’s got a good system. He’s got receivers that can make the plays for him, too. It’s really impressive. I think he’s doing a great job.”
Carroll was then pressed about Penix’s outlook as an NFL prospect. The Seattle coach believes there should not be “any doubt” that Penix will be playing on Sundays.
“Oh, I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Carroll added. “He’ll be challenging somebody, someday.”
Michael Penix Jr. Admires Teddy Bridgewater & Tom Brady
Washington QB Michael Penix, Jr:
—throws for 444 pass yards a game
—completes 74.3 percent of his passes
—has a 12:1 TD to INT ratio
All this while the UW Huskies:
—average 46.7 points a game
—allow just 12 points a game
—are 3-0
Penix has some work to do to continue moving up NFL team’s draft boards, and the Seahawks may opt to once again pass on the position in 2024. Seattle was linked to several of the top quarterback prospects in the 2023 draft, and the Seahawks decided not to select a signal-caller in any of the seven rounds. Penix told The Athletic’s Larry Holder that the NFL quarterback that he was watched a lot is Teddy Bridgewater.
“Growing up in high school (in Tampa, Fla.), I was a big Teddy Bridgewater guy,” Penix explained during the July 13 feature. “Even still today, I’m a fan of Teddy even through everything he’s dealt with. But Tom Brady being in Tampa.
“Always watching the Bucs and being able to see him. Obviously, he’s the GOAT. Some people might not say that, but I don’t know who would actually say he’s not.”