4 options for the Seahawks at quarterback in 2023
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks have an offseason ahead where they will have a lot of options to try to make the team better. Seattle is flush with cap space and draft capital. But the biggest question that will need to be answered is what to do at quarterback moving forward.
Even besides who will play quarterback is what to do with the team around that player. Seattle has a good group of young players who are still trying to find out how good they will be. But Seattle has certain position groups that might require a higher priority in the draft. Such as do the Seahawks want a quarterback at pick number 5 overall or do they think they can get one at number 19?
But getting an excellent defensive tackle like Jalen Carter would be a good pick and help fix a poor interior defensive line. Seattle has the talent to win even more in 2023. Having the right quarterback could make or break the team next year and beyond.
Seahawks option number 1 at QB: Stick with Geno Smith long-term
In many ways, it makes complete sense to bring back Geno Smith. Smith is still young enough (he is 32 years old) to be good for several more years. He knows Shane Waldron’s offense really well and maybe in his second season as a full-time starter, he will be even better than in year one.
But the problems with Smith are that he didn’t get better as the season wore on in 2022; He actually turned the ball over more in the second half of the year than the first. Still, his teammates seem to believe in him and Smith is appreciative of the organization that has given him a couple more opportunities than most other teams would have.
But is the Geno Smith of 2023 more like the Smith of the first half of 2022 or the second half? Because if it is the second half Smith, the team might still be good but likely limited in how good it can be. Seattle has a young team and needs a quarterback that can lead them when overall team talent can’t outweigh inexperience.
Seattle could choose to draft a quarterback high in the 2023 NFL draft and let Smith leave in free agency. If Smith wants $35 million or more, Seattle doesn’t need to spend most of their cap to satisfy him; Seattle has other needs as well. But if Smith would take $25 million, then it likely makes sense to re-sign Smith to a 2-3 year deal and build the team around him.