'He Was Going to Be Here': Seahawks GM John Schneider Affirms Commitment to Geno Smith

A hot topic in trade rumors since the offseason began, as confirmed by John Schneider himself at the NFL combine, the Seattle Seahawks haven't had any questions about Geno Smith's status with the team moving into the 2024 season.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - When the Seattle Seahawks opted to restructure quarterback Geno Smith's contract on February 22 to create salary cap space, the move appeared to squash any possibility of the team trading the two-time Pro Bowler this offseason.

But speaking with reporters off podium at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday, Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider suggested Smith's restructure wasn't viewed as a big deal in the building. While speculation has ran rampant about his future in recent weeks, the organization expected he would be on the roster no matter what.

With his roster bonus restructured into a signing bonus to create cap space, Geno Smith looks to be locked in as the Seahawks starter next season / © Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

When asked of the timing of Smith's restructure, Schneider indicated the reworked contract ultimately was merely a cap-saving formality heading towards free agency and drew far more attention than it should have.

"Honestly, other people made a bigger deal out of that than we did in the building," Schneider responded. "It was like 'is he gonna be here? Is he not gonna be here?' It was not. He was gonna be here. It was a matter of when are we going to tell him we are doing this with his roster bonus?"

Entering the second season in a three-year extension signed last March, Smith's status has been under the microscope due to the structure of his contract and a new coaching staff coming to town. Since his second season as a starter didn't go quite as well as his breakout 2022 campaign, including throwing 10 fewer touchdowns and completing nearly five percent fewer passes, some wondered if Seattle would opt to start from scratch under center.

Schneider and the front office set up Smith's contract with easy outs to move on if they decided to do so, including his $12.7 million base salary becoming fully guaranteed on February 16 and a $9.6 million roster bonus that would kick in if he was on the roster on March 18, five days into the new league year. With those two contract trigger dates in place, the Seahawks could have cut or traded the veteran before his 2024 base salary became fully guaranteed and opened up substantial salary cap room.

Even after that date passed, if Seattle would have traded Smith to another team before March 18, they wouldn't have been on the hook for the rest of his contract, including his upcoming signing bonus, which kept rumors swirling.

But by choosing to adjust Smith's contract with his roster bonus being paid as a signing bonus nearly a month early, the Seahawks made a trade happening far less likely, if not vetoing the possibility entirely. While Schneider's comment on Tuesday calling him a "starter until he's not" raised some eyebrows on social media,  per OverTheCap.com, trading him after the restructure would result in a $27 million dead cap hit and actually would cost the team salary cap space, a sign of their commitment to him for 2024.

Does Grubb Hire Impact Geno’s Future with Seahawks?

Thinking big picture, Seattle deciding to move forward with Smith as the starter next season shouldn't be a surprise at all. The team doesn't pick until 16th overall in the first round of April's draft and doesn't have a second round pick thanks to a midseason trade for Leonard Williams last October, leaving Schneider little ammunition to be able to move up for a top-tier quarterback prospect in the first 10 selections.

The Seahawks would be hard-pressed to find a superior starting quarterback in free agency to replace Smith, whose restructured contract now puts him as the 15th highest-paid quarterback based on cap hit next season. Coming off back-to-back Pro Bowls and a season where he orchestrated an NFL-best five game winning drives, the 33-year old signal caller provides plenty of production on arguably the most team-friendly contract for a quality starter in the league at the game's most crucial position.

With that in mind, the Seahawks now will try to find ways to improve the roster around Smith, who will team up with new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. As for whether or not Drew Lock will return to back him up, Schneider reiterated the organization wants to bring back the veteran backup and he plans to speak with his agent this week in Indianapolis.

Citing other pending free agents such as Damien Lewis and Colby Parkinson, he said Lock is one of several "important" players they will be hoping to re-sign, but it takes two to tango in this business and other teams may present more money and a better opportunity for him. In addition, as he made sure to point out in his closing remarks with reporters, Mike Macdonald and an incoming coaching staff will have a significant hand in those personnel-related decisions over the next few weeks.

"We got a cool group of guys that we want to get all of them back. You find out when you're down here who you think you do have a chance to get back and then you have to try to prioritize it and then work with the staff and see if it makes sense with those guys as well."