Geno Smith was limping badly after the game. His right knee, which he hurt the month before, and his hip were both in pain. “The guy’s barely walking at the end, fighting his *** off,” said Mike Macdonald, his coach, to the Seahawks in the locker room after giving Smith a game ball following the season finale.
Despite this, the 34-year-old quarterback broke two of Seattle’s records for passing yards in a season. Smith believes he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league. When asked if he was confident the Seahawks view him the same way, he said, “Yeah, I am. Yes.”
The question then becomes whether the team will pay him like one. Smith had just finished his best game in his 12-year NFL career when he spoke on Sunday. It was another solid performance, mixing quick, short passes with a few deep throws.
He ended the game with a touchdown pass to tight end Noah Fant, who made an impressive leap and flip, with three minutes left in the season finale against the Los Angeles Rams. Smith completed 20 of 27 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns, leading his Seahawks to a 30-25 victory over the NFC West champions. Smith earned three contract bonuses of $2 million each in that game.
After the game, about 45 minutes after his 12th NFL season ended with the Seahawks out of the playoffs for the second year in a row, Smith spoke at a podium. Bert Kolde, the team’s vice chair, sat in the second row, listening as Smith answered questions.
The questions were about Smith’s future and the Seahawks’ future. Smith explained how the season’s end made him feel like a kid. “It sucks today. Because…man, the season’s end is like the last day of school, and all your friends have gone away,” he said. “But I look forward to getting back to it.”
Smith has one year left on his contract with the Seahawks. In two months, the team has to decide whether to guarantee him $16 million for 2025, which is more than $3 million higher than what he made this season. On Sunday, Smith broke his team’s passing records for the season with 4,320 yards and a completion rate of 70.4%. Back in May, The News Tribune asked John Schneider, the Seahawks’ general manager, about the team’s long-term plans for a quarterback.
“Are you being serious right now?” Schneider replied. “That’s a serious question? ‘What’s your long-term plan?’ Well, we just traded to get Sam Howell. He’s got two years left on his (rookie) contract. He’s, what, two years younger than a lot of these guys (quarterbacks in the 2024 draft class). Geno’s here. We have a really cool room right now.”
Eight months later, the question is still open. The Seahawks do not have a long-term quarterback plan. Smith’s and backup Howell’s contracts both end after the 2025 season. Howell, who was the starting quarterback for the Washington Commanders in 2023, had a poor season, leading the league in interceptions while finishing with a 4-13 record.
After that, Schneider traded for Howell to be Smith’s backup. Howell is 10 years younger than Smith and hasn’t shown much promise in his limited chances this season. Nothing so far suggests Howell is ready to take over for Smith. After the season finale, Smith made his case for a new contract with the Seahawks beyond 2025.
“I love every one of my teammates, man. I love every part of this organization,” Smith said. “Man, I have a bright future. I think y’all can see that. And I believe we have a bright future together.” Smith also said that even after a second straight non-playoff season, finishing 10-7 with a rookie head coach and 22 new assistant coaches, he believes in the team: “I’m telling you man, this team is heading in the right direction.
This team is on its way. That’s with or without me. These guys in this locker room, these coaches, this organization, outstanding organization, and I believe in it. I believe the best of the best is going to happen for this team. I just want to continue to fight with these guys.”
Smith’s performance on Sunday earned him a $6 million bonus, which is how much he would make if he met three statistical goals he set in 2022. That was his first Pro Bowl and playoff season, and his first year as the starting quarterback after Russell Wilson was traded.
On Sunday, Smith reached all three benchmarks. His completion rate of 70.4% was better than the 69.8% he had in 2022, earning him a $2 million bonus. He also passed for 4,320 yards, which was more than his 4,287 from 2022, earning him another $2 million bonus.
Finally, the Seahawks won 10 games, one more than they did in 2022, which earned him another $2 million. Coach Mike Macdonald said he didn’t have to remind Smith to stay focused on the game over his financial goals. “Shoot, he’s the one driving it. He’s like, ‘I just want to go win,’” Macdonald said.
“That’s all he cared about. He was awesome all week.” The bonuses mean that Smith is now set to earn a $16 million bonus in March, up from the $10 million he was scheduled to earn. The new money will be due if he’s still on the Seahawks roster by March 16, which is the fifth day of the new league year. This date is important for the team, as they will have to decide whether to keep Smith for 2025.
The decision on Smith’s future will come down to team chair Jody Allen, vice chair Bert Kolde, general manager John Schneider, and coach Mike Macdonald. They will have to decide by mid-March if they want Smith to be their quarterback, not just for 2025, but probably for 2026 as well.
To lower Smith’s salary-cap hit, which is currently set at $44.5 million for next season, the team might offer him a new, short-term contract, likely two years, through 2026. This would make his salary cap hit more manageable. Alternatively, the team could choose to move on.
They might opt to go with Howell, despite his shaky performance so far. They could also draft a quarterback, but with the 18th pick in the draft, the top quarterbacks who could help Seattle immediately will likely already be gone. Trading up for one of the top quarterbacks is unlikely, as Schneider has a history of trading down in the draft.
On Sunday night, Smith was asked about the important aspects of his contract negotiations with the Seahawks in the coming weeks. He didn’t give an answer, saying, “Those are things that I’ll talk to the people that I need to talk to about. I appreciate the question, but I like to keep a lot of things internally and in-house.”
