Seahawks could not be more clear about Geno Smith in saying these six words

The fact that neither Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider nor head coach Mike Macdonald gave an ironclad guarantee that Geno Smith will be locked in as the Seahawks starter in perpetuity isn't exactly earth-shattering news. Schnieder knows Smith well, but Macdonald doesn't. Last I checked, the head coach decides who plays.

I'm sure that small cadre of Geno Smith haters had a field day with this quote from Seattle's general manager, as quoted by Bob Condotta in The Seattle Times. When Schneider was asked if the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback would start the season as the Hawks QB1, he replied. “Yeah, I mean, I would think yes — he’s the starter - until he’s not.”

I'm sure that got you drooling, but don't get too excited, trolls. That doesn't mean that Schneider suddenly forgot that Geno Smith set an all-time league record in comeback wins. It means he's deferring that ultimate decision to the person he handpicked to make those calls. There isn't much point in spending weeks on a coaching search if you won't let the coach coach.

Seattle Seahawks will support Geno Smith until someone outplays him, just like last year

This idea that the Hawks aren't backing Smith 100 percent is ludicrous. There are definitely questions swirling around Seattle about the quarterback situation as a whole. Drew Lock comes up just as often as Smith in the discussions. As Lee Vowell pointed out in his article (linked above, but I know you already read it), Smith is under contract, and Lock isn't. So yeah, it's a bit odd that the backup is mentioned at the same time as the starter. As Lee pointed out, that was how the question was phrased, so that likely had a lot to do with Mike Macdonald's response.

However, Schneider made it clear that there was never any question that the Seahawks were going to move on from Geno Smith. As quoted by Corbin Smith for si.com, the Hawks GM had this to say about Smith's contract status: "Honestly, other people made a bigger deal out of that than we did in the building," Schneider responded. "It was like 'Is he gonna be here? Is he not gonna be here?' It was not. He was gonna be here. It was a matter of when are we going to tell him we are doing this with his roster bonus?"

Yeah, that sure sounds like a general manager who has no confidence in his starting quarterback, right? What it actually sounds like is that Smith was always Option Number One for the Seahawks, as he should have been. But as John Schneider knows very well, plans can change quickly in the NFL. Neither he nor Pete Carroll expected their third-round pick in the 2012 draft to blow their presumed starter off the field back then, either. So calm down, haters. You'll have to wait a while longer to open that jug of Mogen David you've been holding back to celebrate your fondest dream.

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