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Brady HendersonESPN
Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Friday that contract talks are ongoing with the Seattle Seahawks and the prospects for the two sides reaching an agreement “look very good.”
Smith, 32, is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
“We’ve had discussions and we’re in the process of sorting this all out,” Smith said of the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas in an interview that will air Friday afternoon. “It looks very good. We think we can get some things done, but obviously those things take time. That’s the process that I hate about the NFL because I just want to play football, but it’s also a business, so we have to, ‘I have to take care of the business, and then we get back to football.’
Smith was one of the biggest surprises of the 2022 NFL season. He was a backup for most of the past seven years, won the Seahawks’ starting job after the Russell Wilson trade and delivered a Pro Bowl season, leading the league in terms of the graduation rate, finished sixth overall in QBR and broke several of Wilson’s single-season franchise records.
The one-year deal he signed last April had a base value of $3.5 million. Smith made another $3.5 million in incentives.
Coach Pete Carroll has said several times he hopes the Seahawks can bring Smith back, although he balked at explaining that, although Seattle could secure that result over franchise tag without a multi-year contract. Seahawks general manager John Schneider recently told Seattle’s Sports Radio 93.3 KJR-FM that he believes they will re-sign Smith.
Smith’s deal also came about during his appearance on The Pivot Podcast, which was posted to YouTube on Friday. Smith declined to specify the size of the contract he’s aiming for, but said he’d “love to be in Seattle” and expressed confidence he’ll come back.
“I love Seattle,” Smith said. “We have a great relationship and I think we will work things out. When it comes to contracts, I think every player just wants to get their value. And it’s funny because a great friend tells me no matter what check you’re right, it’s never going to be your worth, because your worth isn’t in money, it’s not in monetary things. So you just want to be respected. Your contract just wants to say we respect you, we understand what you bring to the table, we understand what caliber you are as a player and we appreciate you. That’s really all that matters.”
