The Seattle Seahawks have a massive question to ask themselves: Is Geno Smith the quarterback they want to try to extend and keep around for four more years? At the end of that contract, and that is assuming the team extends Smith for three years after his current deal is done after 2025, the QB would be 38 years old. Knowing that could keep Seattle from extending Smith.
At this point, two-plus years into being the team's starting quarterback, the Seahawks know what they are going to get from Smith. He is a decent player, but he certainly is not transformative. He helps make Seattle better, but he isn't good enough to push the team into elite status. He never will be that player.
He also makes too many crippling mistakes in the red zone to be counted on the win games deep into the playoffs. He might even help Seattle get to the postseason, but the Seahawks won't do much once they are there.
Proposed trade has quarterback Anthony Richardson going to the Seattle Seahawks
And 12s all saw proof in Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers that Sam Howell is not the long-term answer at quarterback.
A website called The Wrightway Sports Network, which does not mind putting forth some ridiculous trade proposals, thinks it has an idea of what Seattle should do. The team should make a trade with the Indianapolis Colts to bring second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson to the Seahawks. The reason, according to writer Marissa Myers, is that Richardson is "ideal for Ryan Grubb’s offensive scheme with his dual-threat ability."
Here is the issue, though. Grubb's offense doesn't work better with a dual-threat quarterback. Smith can run, but he doesn't have many designed plays to do that in Grubb's scheme. At the University of Washington, Grubb's offense was elite, but it was led by quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. who was hardly ever asked to run.
Instead, at its best, Seattle would have a lot of open receivers down the field as other receivers run intermediate routes, while the running game is interspersed in. There is never going to be a real need for the quarterback to be heavily involved in run plays.
Richardson can run well, but his problem is that he has yet to develop a feel for the timing it takes to be successful in throwing the ball in the NFL. He also is highly inaccurate with his passes so far. His career completion percentage is 50.1 and his quarterback rating in 2024 is an awful 60.1. He might still develop into a decent quarterback, but his skill set is not a match for Ryan Grubb's offense.
Plus, if the Colts are already to give up on Richardson, why would Seattle want him? The assumption would also be that Seattle gives a first-round pick to the Colts (Myers doesn't say what Seattle would send Indianapolis), and that is too much to give up for a potential quarterback bust.
Ideally, the Seahawks would draft a quarterback in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, and Smith would play through 2025. The new quarterback would sit and learn for a year and then take over in 2026. Sam Howell would simply be released.
Proposed trade grade: F