The Seattle Seahawks have been good, though not great, with Geno Smith under center over the past three years — but they may have already reached their ceiling with Smith as the starter.
Seattle is tied atop the NFC West Division heading into Week 13 with a record of 6-5, though Smith’s tendency to turn the football over has been a problem, as he leads the NFL with 12 interceptions.
Smith, 34 years old, has been a Pro Bowler in each of the past two seasons. However, the team has yet to win a playoff game with him as the starting quarterback, and he carries a $38.5 million salary cap hit in 2025.
Given the Seahawks’ corps of skill talent, it wouldn’t be shocking if the franchise decided to seek an incremental upgrade that might vault Seattle into more legitimate Super Bowl contention in an NFC that is fairly wide open behind the Detroit Lions (11-1).
Such was the premise for a prediction from Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon on Wednesday, Nov. 27, that the Seahawks will replace Smith next offseason with Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams.
“Geno Smith might not be the entire problem in Seattle, but he’s thrown as many interceptions as touchdown passes … and the Seahawks can save $25 million by moving on this offseason,” Gagnon wrote. “The [New York] Giants, [Las Vegas] Raiders and [Tennessee] Titans might take interest if the Rams part ways, but Stafford might prefer to join a more competitive Seattle team to wind down his career … and Seattle could see this as a great opportunity to upgrade with the window open.”
Stafford is a two-time Pro Bowler and a former Super Bowl champion (2021) who has amassed 58,847 passing yards, 372 touchdowns and 187 interceptions over the course of his professional career, per Pro Football Reference.