The Seattle Seahawks were already out of playoff contention as they faced the Los Angeles Rams in their season finale, but the game was still important for Geno Smith. With $6 million in contract bonuses on the line, the game had a lot at stake for the veteran quarterback.
Smith had three performance-based escalators worth $2 million each, and he managed to meet all three in Seattle’s 30-25 victory at So-Fi Stadium.
“I was just trying to win,” Smith said.
One of Smith’s escalators was tied to the Seahawks making the playoffs or winning 10 games, which they did by finishing the season 10-7. The other two were tied to his individual performance. He needed 185 passing yards to reach 4,282 for the season, which he surpassed early in the fourth quarter. For the other, he had to complete at least 69.7555% of his passes, which he did by going 20-for-27 for 223 yards.
Four of those completions were to rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who finished the season with 100 catches, tying Tyler Lockett’s franchise record.
Smith ended the season with 4,320 passing yards and a 70.4% completion rate, breaking the franchise records he set in 2022. He also set new team marks with 578 attempts and 407 completions. According to the Seahawks, Smith is now one of only 20 quarterbacks in NFL history to finish a season with a completion rate of 70% or higher.
Smith’s four touchdown passes in the game were his most in any single game in his 12-year NFL career.
“I tell you, I hate throwing incompletions anyways,” Smith said. “So those types of things, I’m not worried about that. I try to complete every pass that I throw. Usually, during the games, if I have one, I’m like, ‘I have to hit five in a row.’
That’s how I play. I want to hit 10 in a row. I want 20 completions in a row. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than winning.”
Smith’s fourth touchdown pass, a 4-yard connection with tight end Noah Fant with 3½ minutes left, also gave him his fourth game-winning drive of the season, either in the fourth quarter or overtime.
“It was great to get that last drive for us to go out there and score, Noah to get his first touchdown,” Smith said. “How crazy does that sound? First touchdown of the season. But for that to be the game winner, biggest touchdown of the year.
Just wanted to go out there and win and I’m appreciative of the guys for battling in this game. Obviously had nothing to play for but still had everything to play for.”
Escalators are different from incentives because they are guaranteed once a player hits them. For Smith, the $6 million he earned through these escalators will be added to the $10 million roster bonus he’s due to receive on March 16, as long as he is still with the Seahawks by that date.
Coach Mike Macdonald confirmed that Smith was aware of the escalators but said his focus was purely on winning the game.
“He was like, I just want to go win,” Macdonald said. “That’s all he cared about. He was awesome all week. I’ll keep our conversations private but he was great, man. He was awesome. All his focus all week was just going out the right way and getting a 10th win.”
Smith, 34, is up for a contract extension this offseason, which he wanted last year but didn’t get since the Seahawks have a policy of not redoing contracts with more than a year left.
When asked about what would be important in his negotiations, Smith said, “Those are things that I’ll talk to the people I need to talk to about. I appreciate the question, but I like to keep a lot of things internal, in-house, with respect to everybody involved. I think it’s the best way to do it.”
Smith finished the season with 21 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions. He gave credit to Coach Macdonald for his support throughout the season, especially when he made mistakes. “I made a lot of stupid mistakes and he had my back the entire time,” Smith said.
First-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who has faced criticism due to the Seahawks’ struggling run game, received strong support from Smith.
“I think Grubb is an excellent, excellent coordinator,” Smith said. “Even better man. Our first year, obviously there were some ups and downs, some things we can improve on. We’ll work hard to get those things fixed, but I believe in this system. I believe this is a really good system and it’s going to be really good for a long time.”
“I think Grubb has exactly what it takes to be a great coordinator in this league and it’s his first year, you’ve got to give the guy some grace. He’s figuring things out too. I thought he did an outstanding job leading the group. I love the passion that he brings to the game and he made me a better quarterback.”
