SEATTLE – Geno Smith didn’t write back.
Or, in this case, he didn’t counter.
That’s despite a substantial extension offer from the Seahawks this offseason, which the Times previously reported was worth two years and up to $40-45 million annually. Instead, a series of dramatic dominoes dropped, as the Seahawks dealt their starting quarterback to the Las Vegas Raiders (and former coach Pete Carroll) for a third-round pick.
That move preceded Monday’s surreal scene – featuring Smith, donning a silver blazer and a black undershirt, seated beside Carroll to announce an extension eerily similar to the one offered by the Seahawks. The 34-year-old signal caller signed a two-year extension with a base value of $75 million and incentives that could escalate it to $85.5 million. That’s on top of the $31 million he’s owed in 2025, in the last season of a deal he signed with the Seahawks in 2023.
“This has been coming, but today feels like the real deal,” the 73-year-old Carroll said. “We’re finally here together, sitting next to each other and talking about getting on the field and throwing the football around. That’s what we’re all about. So we couldn’t be more connected in that regard.”
That word – “connected” – carries weight, considering the circumstances.
In his first public comments since the trade, Smith told Sports Illustrated in a story published Monday that money wasn’t the only motivating factor that forced such a move.
“Obviously, they have young guys in the building that they want to step up and be leaders, and they got a new head coach last year,” Smith said of the Seahawks. “And (coach Mike Macdonald) was good for us, and I really enjoyed being with him for that season.
“But again, man, when you’re talking about business, and you’re talking about a quarterback who wants not only to get paid – every player wants to get paid – but to be respected, that’s the most important thing. It’s the respect factor. And I just felt like there was a disconnect there.”
For the record: It wasn’t disrespectful that the Seahawks declined to negotiate when Smith approached them last summer, maintaining a precedent of not offering extensions to players with more than a year left on their deal. The extension they eventually offered wasn’t disrespectful, either, as evidenced by the similar deal Smith happily signed this week.
I don’t blame Smith – a consummate competitor – for feeling he was owed a more significant commitment, or for wanting to reunite with the coach who helped him reclaim his career. Nor do I blame the Seahawks for refusing to rain guaranteed money or tether their future to a 34-year-old starter whose ceiling they may have already seen.
Sports divorces are unavoidably acrimonious, given the time and money and attachment fans sink into stars. There’s no telling whether Smith will be cheered or booed if/when he someday returns to Seattle.
While it’s human to assign heroes and villains, the reality is less nefarious. These wounds will heal. As Smith said Monday: “It’s just business, and that’s the way things work in the NFL. There are no hard feelings with anyone (in Seattle). I have a lot of love for everybody there, really. I think it’s just business. There’s new opportunity for everyone.”
That’s the more important point: Which side will better maximize this opportunity? The answer transcends a lazy quarterback comparison. Sam Darnold – the Seahawks’ chosen successor under center – showed plenty of promise in 2024, completing 66.2% of his passes while throwing for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns in a resurgent season with the Minnesota Vikings.
But can the former No. 3 overall pick – whose 12 interceptions were tied for fourth most in the NFL – minimize his mistakes? Can he operate behind a maddeningly unproven offensive line? Can he master offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s system?
More important, can the Seahawks convert 10 draft picks – and roughly $36.1 million in cap space, according to overthecap.com, eighth most in the NFL – into a roster where their quarterback doesn’t need to save the day?
If general manager John Schneider does his job, Darnold shouldn’t have to be better than Smith.
He may not even have to be better to be a better fit.
“I’m most excited about the person, the leader, the teammate, that guy that we get to work with every day,” Macdonald said of Darnold in an interview on Sirius XM last week. “I think he’s in a great spot, from our conversations. I think he’s energized. He’s driven, just like the rest of us in the building. So he’s going to fit right in.”
Smith didn’t write back – again – effectively ending his story in Seattle. As the two-time Pro Bowler told SI: “Seattle was a great situation for me. But I think I found something maybe even better.”
He’s not a villain for pursuing, or believing he’s found, a better fit.
As for the Seahawks? Winning this trade is not as simple as acquiring an upgrade under center.