Getty Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.
After an offseason filled with anxiety, the Seattle Seahawks may already have their QB1 for 2023 in Geno Smith. The challenge is Smith will be a free agent after this season and is due for a massive raise from his $3.5 million salary.
What would a new contract for Smith look like if the Seahawks want to extend the veteran quarterback? ESPN 710 Seattle’s Brock Huard believes the Seahawks should wait until closer to the end of the season before signing Smith to a long-term deal. Assuming Smith keeps up his stellar play, Huard estimates Smith could sign a two-year, $30 million new contract with the Seahawks.
“Give me the rest of October and into early November,” Huard explained on October 13, 2022. “Then maybe make that phone call. …Two years, $30 million deal [with] $20 million guaranteed. Give Geno significant money, but do a deal where it doesn’t hamper you from drafting somebody in the top 10 if there’s someone that you love.”
Could the Seahawks Re-Sign Smith & Draft a QB?
The Seahawks gave the team options this offseason by acquiring Drew Lock in the Russell Wilson trade, and re-signing Smith to create a true quarterback competition. Huard believes that the Seahawks could still use a high 2023 draft pick on a rookie quarterback, even if the team inks Smith to a long-term deal.
“If we remember [Seahawks general manager] John Schneider, he looked at Josh Allen when he had Russell,” Huard noted. “He looked at [Patrick] Mahomes when he had Russell. That does not, it should not and will not preclude you from finding your next quarterback. And if you believe it’s a generational guy like those guys, then go draft him in the top 10, and a two-year, $30 million deal for Geno won’t get in the way of that. I’m starting those conversations in-house. And if he keeps playing like this, I’m doing that deal in December.”
The Seahawks Left the Door Open on Smith’s Future
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has praised Smith dating back to the offseason. During his October 10 weekly show on ESPN 710 Seattle, Carroll was asked if Smith could be the team’s long-term solution at quarterback. Carroll admitted that the franchise may have found their QB1 but stopped short of confirming Smith’s future in Seattle.
“He’s doing it,” Carroll explained. “He’s doing everything we could ask of him right now. It’s good, too, that he’s got Drew [Lock]. He’s got Drew nipping at his heels. Every day in practice Drew does stuff. He’s got good stuff going right there in support of what Geno does. It just keeps everybody on their toes. It’s just the good thing about competition, it’s good and we like that it continues to be this way.
“Geno’s not going to sit back now. He’s not going to get comfortable. He realizes the moment, and he’s really going for it. He’s really trying to keep things at bay, whether it’s the media or whatever. He’s trying to do a great job with all of that. He’s going to have a chance to really have a great year and a future. I don’t see any reason why anything would get in his way. Physically, he’s in really great shape right now.”