Seattle Seahawks May Have To Rethink QB Situation With Geno Smith

The Seattle Seahawks may not be a shoe-in for the playoffs after all.

Following the Seahawks’ 24-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16, Seattle dropped to 7-8. The loss marked Seattle’s fifth loss in their past six games.

It also marked some further regression from Geno Smith.

After a sensational start to the season, the 32-year-old quarterback has finally cooled off. Over his past three games, Smith’s passer rating has dipped lower than 91.0 in each of those contests.

Prior to Week 13, Smith had just two of those types of games.

While facing a subpar Chiefs defensive unit — they came into the game ranking 20th in the league, allowing an average of 23.0 points per game — the veteran quarterback couldn’t get anything done through the air.

Smith threw for just 81 passing yards in the first half — 71 to DK Metcalf alone — and had just 130 passing yards when Seattle took over with under five minutes remaining on their final offensive drive of the game. It’s clear that the absence of leading receiver, Tyler Lockett, had a big impact on the Seahawks’ struggles versus a mediocre defensive unit.

The Seahawks didn’t end up scoring a touchdown until the game was out of reach with a little over two minutes remaining.

This isn’t to say Smith is the reason for Seattle’s demise after starting out the season 6-3 and leading the NFC West through the first nine weeks. The biggest culprit is actually the Seahawks’ run defense, which came into Week 16 allowing 161.1 rushing yards per game over their past three games.

However, it’s become obvious that Smith may not be able to maintain the elite form he showed earlier on in the season over a full 17-game stretch.

That’s not exactly surprising considering Smith had served as a journeyman backup over the course of his career, having not played as a full-time starter since the 2014 season.

Smith has proven that he is indeed a starting quarterback in this league. Entering the game, the 32-year-old still led the league in completion percentage (71.4%), which would be the fifth-highest mark over a single season in NFL history. The 2022 Pro Bowler also entered Week 16 ranking fourth in touchdown passes and ranking second in passer rating.

However, he’s also thrown some costly interceptions with Seattle’s playoff hopes on the line — including one in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter versus the Chiefs — with five coming in the last five weeks alone. By comparison, Smith threw just four interceptions over the first 10 games of the season.

Seattle entered the season with low expectations, with many observers actually believing the Seahawks would be the worst team in the league.

The Seahawks have certainly exceeded expectations this season and that’s largely been due to the play of Smith. Considering wild card playoff contenders such as the New York Giants (8-7-1) and the Detroit Lions (7-8) also lost key games in Week 16, Seattle still has a chance of clinching a playoff berth. They’ll face teams with losing records in the New York Jets and the Los Angeles Rams over the final two weeks of the season.

With that being said, the Seahawks do possess two first-round draft picks next year. They’ll likely have one top-five pick following the trade involving Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos.

Seattle should certainly beef up their front seven with a dominant pass rusher or front seven player. However, they may want to consider selecting a quarterback with their other pick, especially when one considers how deep the quarterback class is for 2023.

CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson actually projects the Seahawks to select University of Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson with the 15th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Wilson explains how Smith may not be the long-term answer in Seattle.

“Geno Smith has had a phenomenal season, and there’s every reason to believe he deserves to be the Seahawks starter in ’23. But he’s currently on a one-year deal, and even if Seattle bring him back for, say, two years, that’s best-case for Richardson, who may need time to grow into the role. He is one of the most exciting prospects in this class. Yes, he’s short on experience, but his physical tools are rare.

Prior to the Seahawks’ recent skid — when they were still 6-4 — one NFL general manager projected Smith to sign either a $30-to-$35 million deal per year or be slapped with the franchise tag. That sounds about right, considering Over The Cap also projects Smith’s contract valuation at roughly $37 million per year.

“I think $30 [million] to $35 million a season is about right,” one general manager told Yahoo Sports. “Although it wouldn’t surprise me if they used the franchise tag on him just to take it one more year to be sure.”

Whether the Seahawks make the playoffs or not, Smith has undoubtedly earned the starting job entering next season.

However, there is reason for concern on whether or not Smith is the long-term answer as the franchise quarterback.

Smith is certainly the Seahawks’ franchise quarterback entering the offseason. But Seattle needs to look for its quarterback of the future, just in case Smith’s 2022 season proves to be a mirage.