Despite breaking his own single-season franchise record for passing yards last season, Geno Smith’s time with the Seattle Seahawks came to an end on Friday afternoon after the Las Vegas Raiders agreed to send a 2025 3rd Round pick to Seattle for the 34-year-old veteran who resurrected his career in the Pacific Northwest just a few seasons ago. In part, Smith ends up in Las Vegas because he and the Seahawks were far apart on contract negotiations. But apparently, the looming presence of Sam Darnold at least played a minor role in why Smith is now a Raider.
Like Geno Smith, Sam Darnold is also coming off the most prolific season of his career. Darnold threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns for a 14-3 Vikings squad last season, and looked to be in line for a massive offseason payday until a disastrous final two games brought the fringe MVP candidate back down to earth. But for four months, there was no disputing that few were playing the quarterback position than Darnold, and for that reason, Seattle remains interested in the former 3rd overall pick.
“The Seahawks, after trading Geno Smith to the Raiders, have shifted their primary focus to Sam Darnold,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz says in a tweet on Saturday morning. “He is their No. 1 option, and there is mutual interest on his behalf as well.”
Assuming that the Seahawks could sign Darnold to a contract in line with what Geno Smith has been/would be making, it makes sense that they’d make the swap, particularly because they get a free 3rd Round pick out of the deal thanks to the Raiders. Darnold is seven years younger than Smith and could reasonably still have his best football ahead of him assuming operating within the right sort of infrastructure. Having come from Baltimore, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald should theoretically have the blueprint for providing that.
The Seahawks do still have the lingering DK Metcalf trade request drama to sort out, but with the emergence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the team’s number one option in the pass game and the 27-year-old Metcalf playing on the final year of his deal, maybe now is actually the right time to move on.
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