As the Seattle Seahawks' 2024 season comes to a close in Week 18 in a meaningless contest against the Los Angeles Rams (the NFC West Champion Rams), Seattle has to be left feeling conflicted about how the season went.
On the bright side, Mike Macdonald has come to Seattle and, in one year, pushed the defense from 25th in the league in scoring to 10th. Jaxon Smith-Njigba looks to have begun his ascension into the best pass catcher in the league. Abe Lucas is back and Zach Charbonett has proven to be much more than just Kenneth Walker’s backup.
On the glass half-empty side, the Seahawks let a golden opportunity to win the NFC West slip away. Their home-field advantage is gone, and the offense has completely stalled out under Ryan Grubb, sitting currently 19th in scoring, down from 17th last season.
The NFC North might point the way to a better future for the Seattle Seahawks
No player embodies this seesaw feeling the Seahawks have left us feeling more so than Geno Smith, who has become arguably the most polarizing player in the league now.
As the Seahawks sit in the middle of the NFL hierarchy for the fourth consecutive season, the same question remains since Seattle traded Russell Wilson: Who will be the franchise quarterback to get Seattle back to being a Super Bowl contender?
While Geno has proven to be in that top 12 range, the red zone play, the third down play, and the turnovers just continue to hold him back from making the jump and silencing the doubters. Now, I'm a fan of Geno Smith and understand that the offensive line is a major factor in this, but he's not innocent either, no matter what the popular Seahawks content creators will mock you for thinking.
It's fair to believe that Geno deserves a better opportunity, while also acknowledging that his ceiling may not be high enough for where this franchise’s expectations need to be.
The easiest path Seattle could follow is the Detroit plan. Detroit believed in Jared Goff when few others did. While his first 20 games in Detroit were difficult, a foundation was being laid along the offensive line. Drafting Penei Sewell as a right tackle before Jamar Chase was ridiculed at first, but Sewell has become the unquestioned best right tackle in football.
In free agency, the Lions went out and pried Kevin Zeitler away from Baltimore. The Lions focused not just on the tackles but also on the interior offensive line. They created an identity and an attitude that the entire NFL is jealous of and has allowed Goff to reach his potential.
Could Seattle and John Schneider pivot on a philosophy that has been a part of this franchise for 15 years? Does John believe that Geno can get to that level with an increased focus on the guards? I'll believe it when I see it.
Battling the Lions for supremacy in the NFC North are the Vikings, who are having a magical season behind the resurgence of former golden prospect Sam Darnold. Darnold has led the Vikings to a 14-2 record, with over 4,000 passing yards, 36 total touchdowns, and five game-winning drives.
Will the Vikings really let Darnold walk, or are they going to commit to him and potentially look to trade their first-round pick in former national champ JJ McCarthy? How far they go in the playoffs, and who Seattle appoints as their new Offensive Coordinator (it's inevitable) could bring one of those two to Seattle and Geno out the door?
The situation in Minnesota is very similar to 2017, when the Vikings chose Kirk Cousins over Case Keenum. Speaking of Cousins, does he have a Russell Wilson Steelers rebirth in him? Pittsburgh appears to be hitting their ceiling, but Russ, on a prove-it dirt-cheap contract, has the Steelers back in the playoffs and potentially still a division championship.
I'd hate the deal. But I can understand it if the medical staff believes Kirk will be in a far healthier state a full season and a half after his Achilles surgery.
Speaking of deals I hate, thankfully there is no Deshaun Watson type of trade or free agent out there for the Seahawks to pull a Browns and destroy their franchise on and off the field.
To the “Just draft a QB” crowd that floods social media, it's a bit more complicated than just drafting a guy. When picking in the mid teens every year, it's very difficult to trade up and back into round one like when the Ravens did when they got Lamar Jackson. It is nearly impossible to trade up without mortgaging the future, which doesn't make sense unless you find your guy.
I don't know if there is a guy that fits either of those scenarios this year, but that story changes in 2026. Arch Manning will be the headliner, but there are arguably five to six quarterbacks that would be rated higher than both Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward this season. Does John Schneider have that amount of time to find his man?
Even if he's given that time, it's no sure thing. Green Bay’s plan with Jordan Love worked perfectly, but few teams are given that kind of patience, and fewer quarterbacks are willing to wait that long. For every franchise-changing top early draft pick like Joe Burrow with Cincinnati, there are five cases of what we're seeing with Caleb Williams in Chicago.
That's eight teams that have experienced incredible amounts of success and failure when trying to find their franchise quarterback. Conference champions to worst contracts in football, MVPs to guys getting suspended and nearly getting indicted. It's a dangerous and mysterious path trying to find glory in the NFL. Seattle can't stay in purgatory forever, and the next path they take will either make or break this franchise for the next half-decade.