Seahawks reportedly pick up Geno Smith’s $12.7M roster guarantee for 2024

Last updated: 2024/02/15 at 9:23 PM

BigP Published February 15, 2024

As the Seahawks set to enter a new era with head coach Mike Macdonald at the helm, it appears Seattle is not willing to cut veteran quarterback Geno Smith loose just yet.

The Seahawks have reportedly informed Smith, who has been the team’s starter for the past two seasons, that they’re keeping him on the roster — at least beyond Feb. 16, when a $12.7 million injury guarantee in Smith’s contract becomes fully guaranteed.

It remains to be seen what the Seahawks will ultimately do with Smith, who won NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2022 and led Seattle to a surprise playoff berth but regressed a bit in 2023. Smith signed a three-year, $105 million contract extension with the Seahawks last offseason, though it came with Seattle’s then-head coach Pete Carroll, who had final say over team personnel decisions.

Carroll left the team after the 2023 season and was replaced by Macdonald, the former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator, while general manager John Schneider was promoted to president of football operations.

Ryan Grubb, who Macdonald hired to run the Seahawks’ offense under him, praised Smith at his introductory press conference Thursday.

“He’s a competitor,” Grubb said, via a local Seattle radio station. “He wants to be coached. He wants to be the best.”

Still, Smith will turn 34 years old next season and has still spent most of his NFL career as a backup. What’s more, not only is Carroll no longer running the team, but offensive coordinator Shane Waldron — under whom Smith revitalized his career — left Seattle for the Chicago Bears after the coaching change.

The Seahawks hold the No. 20 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which features a loaded quarterback class including local college star Michael Penix Jr., who Grubb coached at the University of Washington.

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