Geno Smith forced to leave game with knee injury versus Packers (updated)

Sam Howell was ineffective replacing QB1.

Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks
Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks | Jane Gershovich/GettyImages

The game already seemed decided by late in the third quarter. The Green Bay Packers had dominated the Seattle Seahawks from the opening drive. This forced quarterback Geno Smith to throw more than he has needed to lately. While he has been a healthy quarterback since becoming Seattle's QB1 in Week 1 of 2022, Smith was hurt in the third quarter of Week 15.

Smith had just finished throwing the ball away, and he had jumped during the pass, and Packers defensive lineman Edgerrin Cooper jumped toward Smith at the same time. Cooper hit Smith's legs and Smith tumbled to the ground.

The play was not a dirty one and Cooper was not flagged. Smith began to limp toward the sideline, clearly knowing he was hurting, but went to the ground before he got there. He was assisted to the sideline, went to the blue medical tent, and then limped to the locker room. Wide receiver Tyler Lockett gave Smith a hug in the tunnel, obviously trying to console the quarterback.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith hurts his knee against the Green Bay Packers

The initial diagnosis was a knee injury, and Smith was questionable to return to the game. Sam Howell replaced Smith but was extremely ineffective in his first two drives. Howell showed the same issues he had with the Washington Commanders last season. He held onto the ball far too long and took hits from defenders.

If Howell has to replace Smith for long, there was little evidence the backup quarterback would do good things. Smith also has a tendency to hold on to the ball too long and take unneeded sacks, but he has also shown he can lead the offense fairly decently. With Howell, the offense appears extremely limited.

In other words, while many 12s complain that Smith is not the long-term answer to who is the Seahawks starting quarterback (and he may not be), he is most certainly Seattle's best option currently. The Seahawks are still battling for the NFC West crown and a playoff spot, but without Smith, those dreams would seemingly be dashed.

Update: In his post-game remarks, head coach Mike Macdonald said there was seemingly no structural damage to Smith's knee, but the team would run more tests on Monday. The coach did not know if Smith would definitely miss any time yet.

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