Seahawks Could Replace Geno Smith With $51 Million QB, Says Insider
The Seattle Seahawks will soon have a new head coach, and that coach may be considering a trade for quarterback Geno Smith.
The team has a few options for that, but Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was brought up by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. The 2023 Hurts and Eagles season has begun. After a 10-1 start, the team lost six of its last seven games and was upset by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round. There are no clear signs that Herts, who signed a huge new contract this season, want to leave. But if that’s the case, Florio says the Seahawks are one of the teams that make the most sense. “Depending on who the new coach is, I might throw the ball to the Seahawks,” Florio told co-host Chris Simms on the Jan. 24 episode of “PFT Live.”
“There’s Geno Smith who has an opt-out, and if the new coach decides, ‘I think we could do something special with Jalen Hurts if he’s from Philly,’ they can bring Jalen Hurts in.” ‘I want to go’. And a new beginning is needed.
Jalen Hurts may need a change of scenery
After reaching the Super Bowl in 2022, the Eagles looked like championship contenders again this season, so it wasn’t a sure thing. During the team’s losing streak, Hurts made a cryptic comment about how not everyone in the locker room is the same.
After the season, the QB gave head coach Nick Sirianni lukewarm support at best, and now the team has parted ways with offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, who has known the QB since he was 4 or 5 years old when Hurts’ father helped . trainer. Johnson’s high school team in Baytown, Texas, according to ESPN’s Tim McManus. All of this has Florio talking to an anonymous NFL source about the possibility of Hurts going elsewhere despite signing a massive contract extension less than a year later.
“Once Jalen Hurts decides they both need a fresh start and start talking, it’s going to be difficult to find a suitor. “When a team and a player decide, ‘It’s time to go our separate ways,’ you have to find someone willing to accept that deal,” Florio said.
“It’s a lot of guaranteed money up front. It’s about 10 days into the new league year, 10 days until the option deadline hits about $38 million, and a fully guaranteed period. “If they want to, they should.”
Because of Hurts and Smith’s contracts, that candidate could be the Seahawks. How can the Seahawks get Jalen Hurts instead of Geno Smith?
Hurts and Smith signed big contracts last season. As many NFL fans know, the reported details are often not true. After leading the Seahawks to the playoffs, Smith received a three-year, $75 million contract with $40 million guaranteed and an average annual value (AAV) of $25 million.
After the Eagles’ trip to the Super Bowl, Hurts signed a five-year, $255 million contract with $179.4 million guaranteed and an AAV of $51 million. However, no two contracts are identical.
For Smith and the Seahawks, it’s a one-year deal worth just over $27 million. After the 2023 season, the team could opt out of the deal and save between $13.8 million and $22.5 million, depending on when it reduced salary cap space or the trade.
As for Hurts, his deal guarantees at least $179.4 million, but he’s more marketable on the salary cap than some expansion teams in recent years. Florio wrote to NBCSports.com on Jan. 23. For the Eagles: “So far he has earned $24.3 million. The June 1 trade cap is only $18.632 million through 2024. It will be off the books by 2025.’
For an injured team, it’s a slightly different story. Can the Seahawks handle the pain?
If the Seahawks want to cut back on Hurts, not only do they have financial and contractual issues to deal with, but they’d also have to give up capital to secure him. “Hurts has $82 million fully guaranteed over the next two years. That’s $41 million a year,” Florio wrote. “$133 million over the next three years, or $44.33 million on average.”
Can the Seahawks handle this? I can’t do it now, but I can easily get to the point where I can. According to Spotrac, Seattle’s cap space will hit -$4,027 through the 2024 offseason. But with a few moves, general manager John Schneider was able to quickly free up cap space.
Releasing (or trading) Smith, Tyler Lockett and Jamal Adams and restructuring DK Metcalf would immediately free up $33 million in salary cap space for the Seahawks. That would easily exceed Hurts’ $13.5 million cap hit next season.
The question now is whether it makes sense from a footballing perspective, which is harder to answer.
