4 Seattle Seahawks who need to silence their doubters in 2024

Geno Smith - Seahawks quarterback

Geno Smith has had his doubters since the Seahawks gave him a chance to be QB1 before the 2022 season. No matter what Smith does, many doubters remain. One wonders if some simply refuse to look at statistics and weigh that with the overall team around Smith. For instance, he led the NFL in fourth quarer comebacks in 2023 while his defense was ranked 25th in points allowed and 25th in yards allowed per play. A quarterback can only do so much.

Was Smith the reason Seattle lost eight games last year? Of course not. The fact that Smith had four fourth quarter comebacks and five game-winning drives (that number also led the league) makes it logical to think that Seattle would have been worse without Smith. But some people are going to doubt Smith anyway.

The people who matter - Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider - will decide what happens with Smith. The team acquired Sam Howell in a trade this offseason, and Howell is ten years younger than Smith and has a year of starting experience in the NFL. If Seattle does not see much difference between Smith and Howell, that could be the real problem for Smith.

Should Seattle release Smith next offseason, the team would save $25 million. Howell could then be the starter, and Seattle could draft a quarterback in 2025. Doubting Smith has proved to be a fool's errand, however, so the expectation should be that he plays well in 2024, and Seattle has no reason to think of releasing him next offseason.

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