Seahawks Coach Mike Macdonald Reveals 'Starting Point' at QB Next Season

New Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has detailed what he's looking for in a quarterback despite Geno Smith looking set to remain the starter in 2024.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith couldn't live up to the heights of his Pro Bowl season in the first year post-Russell Wilson. Instead, Seattle missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record.

With Smith having no guaranteed money left and his contract having an out this year, what the team will do with him is unknown. While a return seems likely as Geno has shown what he can do with the Seahawks' offensive pieces, it isn't a certainty given his $31.2 million cap hit in 2024.

But with Macdonald coming in with fresh ideas, what is he looking for in a quarterback?

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"Quarterbacks comes in all different shapes and sizes," Macdonald said on Seattle Sports 710. "But to me, can you make people around you better? And can you bring people together? Are they gonna go play for you? ... Those things are obviously incredibly important. But at its core, it's, hey, can we bring down the team together? And will the guys follow you when you go fight on Sundays? That's obviously the starting point."

It is no secret what the locker room thinks about Smith as he has shown time and time again that he can lead this team through adversity. Running back Kenneth Walker stated after the comeback win against the Washington Commanders in Week 9 that Smith is a "great leader" and the team has "faith in him."

Now, with a new era beginning in Seattle, having a veteran quarterback like Smith to lead the team seems like a logical choice.

Can Smith make players around him better? We would say yes. All of the things that Macdonald described, Geno has and there is no doubt that the locker room has faith in him as the team's leader..

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Macdonald clearly knows what he wants and has outlined the criteria of what his quarterback looks like.

Seattle has all the offensive weapons to power its way back into the playoffs next season along with the quarterback, who can tie everything together and be the leader the organization needs.