NFL insider issues warning to the Seahawks about Geno Smith

Geno Smith is a good quarterback. Some might still argue that fact, but the evidence supporting their arguments diminishes with every season. Smith has been the Seattle Seahawks' starting quarterback for two-plus seasons now, and during that time, he has led the league in completion percentage (2022) and game-winning drives (2023).

This year, Smith ranks only 17th in quarterback rating, but that raw statistic can be misleading. What hurts Smith is his four interceptions, only two of which might be his fault. One was a heave toward the end zone at the end of Week 4 when Smith was forced to throw deep on fourth down with hardly any time left. Another was on a tipped pass that appeared to be heading toward the receiver.

Smith leads the NFL in passing yards through the first four games. He is 10th in Total QBR, a truer way of measuring a quarterback as it incorporates lots of factors instead of completion percentage, yards, touchdowns, and interceptions. Smith is also second in completion percentage. Statistically, he is a very good quarterback.

NFL insider says if the Seahawks don't want to pay Geno Smith then some team will

The quarterback will turn 34 years old on October 10, and he is signed through 2025. By the time his contract is done, Smith will be almost 36 years old. Is that too old for the Seahawks to sign him to another extension and keep him around until he is nearly 40? If he is good for the next two seasons, is he worth the risk of an extension?

That is one of the major questions for the team beginning next offseason. Seattle is not going to work with Smith's agent on an extension now. That would be nearly a year before the team might be pressed to begin extension talks, and the Seahawks don't do business that way.

NFL insider Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network believes Seattle might need to make an exception when it comes to Smith, however. As Jeremiah put simply on Seattle Sports 710 AM this week, "Do you think the Carolina Panthers would give him $50 million after this year, and maybe another five or six teams might be willing to do that? I mean, he’s going to find his value whether or not Seattle wants to to do it or not. Somebody’s going to step up and give it to him if he keeps playing like this."

So general manager John Schneider and the Seahawks have a major issue. Pay a nearly 36-year-old Smith and hope he continues to play as he has done over the last three seasons (including this year) or cut him loose and start over with a young quarterback who may or may not turn out to be good. The younger player will be less expensive to begin with but might not be as successful.

A worst-case scenario would be letting Smith leave after 2025 while Seattle drafts a quarterback and then the young player fails. Meanwhile, Smith goes to a new team and leads them to the playoffs. That scenario is as likely as any other at this point.

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