Geno's Gift: Smith 'Bought Seahawks Time' in Franchise QB Search

Geno Smith's career-best season last year was a thing of beauty, but what it also did in the post-Russell Wilson era is it bought the franchise time to look for its next franchise quarterback.

​You could probably count on one hand the number of people who were expecting the kind of season Geno Smith produced for the Seattle Seahawks last season.

After Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos, Smith took the starting role, and he ran with it. ... His career-best season capped with a postseason appearance and a Pro Bowl nod.

Given his age, many think that he isn't Seattle's long-term answer at the position. We get that. But there is also this: We've written that he is a fine "bridge'' to the next QB. And ESPN agrees, now noting that his efforts last season may have given the Seahawks some breathing room in their future quarterback search.

"Early returns indicate they fleeced the Broncos in last year's Russell Wilson trade," Dan Graziano writes. "And while a 32-year-old Geno Smith might not be their long-term answer at QB, his outstanding 2022 performance (tied for sixth in QBR at 60.8) at the very least bought them time to keep looking for one."

While many were expecting a rebuilding-type season under Smith, he bucked the trend and seemingly fast-tracked that rebuild and pushed it into hyper-speed. 

Now, we know that quarterbacks can play well into their late 30s and even early 40s. That could in theory happen here. But what Smith has done for certain is give the Seahawks time to find their next franchise quarterback.

He might be the answer for now, but we are about to see if his efforts were a flash in the pan (we don't think it will be). Such has been his improvement and the expected natural progression of the current roster; many think Seattle can usurp the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West.

While that might be a little bit of a reach right now, under Smith and with an offense that added Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zach Charbonnet, Seattle has the weapons to trouble any team in the league.

Many look at Smith right now as a stop-gap player for Seattle, and while he might just be, he is keeping the ship afloat and giving the organization ample time to find its next star quarterback post-Wilson, which is a huge win.

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