Geno Poll

[D-train]

Tomorrow is decision day.

By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter
The Seahawks’ three new coordinators are scheduled to be introduced at a news conference Thursday morning at the team’s facility in Renton.

Then Ryan Grubb (offense), Aden Durde (defense) and Jay Harbaugh (special teams) will meet with new coach Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider and get to the task of making the big decisions regarding the 2024 roster.

The most immediate concern is four players who have 2024 salaries (or partial salaries) that become guaranteed if they remain on the roster through Friday.

Those four and the 2024 salaries that become fully guaranteed Friday are:

Quarterback Geno Smith, $12.7 million.
Wide receiver DK Metcalf, $13 million.
Defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones, $7 million of $11 million.
Kicker Jason Myers, $3.635 million.
The guarantees for Metcalf, Jones and Myers were included in contracts that essentially came with the assumption that they would be with the team in 2024. The guarantee clauses give the team an out.

The Seahawks will have to make moves to create salary-cap space sooner than later. As of Wednesday they were $5.2 million over the cap for 2024 according to OvertheCap.com. They had $9.5 million in effective cap space, a number that takes into account money that must be allocated for draft picks.

Teams must be under the cap by the beginning of the new league year, March 13.

Seattle is hardly alone in having to create cap space. Eleven other teams also are over the cap, according to OvertheCap.com.

Something will have to give for Seattle over the next few weeks.

The contracts for Myers and Metcalf, though, include big dead-cap hits — meaning cap space that will be used on the player even if he is no longer on the team — and minimal or no cap savings.

The team would take a dead hit of $5.625 million if Myers is released with no cap savings. Metcalf has a dead hit of $23 million with a potential cap savings of just $1.5 million.

Myers is coming off a bumpier season than he had in 2022, when he made the Pro Bowl.

His cap number of $5.510 million in 2024 is projected as fifth-highest among kickers, according to spotrac.com. But as noted, there is no immediate cap savings with a release, though there are restructure and post-June 1 cut options that could offer some.

Jones’ contract is a little more moderate in cap hit/savings, with a dead hit of $13.3 million and potential savings of $4.84 million.

That leaves Smith as the biggest immediate question — assuming there is one.

There have been no rumblings that he would not be on the roster Friday, which would lock in his base salary for 2024. The conventional wisdom seems to be that nothing will happen this week. But that would hardly guarantee that Smith would be assured of being Seattle’s quarterback in 2024.

His contract includes a clause that says he will receive a $9.6 million bonus if he is on the roster March 18. That’s five days after the beginning of the new league year and the free-agent signing period.

That was written in to provide Seattle more wiggle room to consider options.

If both dates pass, Smith would be owed $22.5 million in cash by Seattle in 2024 (including a $200,000 workout bonus) and count for $31.2 million against the cap. That would virtually assure he will be the starter in 2024.

That cap number would be the highest on the team and would rank 12th among all QBs for 2024, according to spotrac.com. The cash payout, though, ranks just 18th (with the cap hit also including an $8.7 million proration of a signing bonus he has already received).

If Seattle were to cut Smith, it would receive $13.8 million in cap savings but take on a $17.4 million dead hit. Seattle could get more of savings with a post-June 1 cut ($8.7 million dead, $22.5 million savings).

But post-June 1 cuts cannot be made until the start of the new league year, March 13.

Cutting or keeping Smith, though, aren’t the only options. Seattle could let Friday’s deadline pass and still consider trade possibilities, specifically before the March 18 roster bonus kicks in. A pre-June 1 trade would come with the same $17.4 million dead hit and $13.8 million in savings but also getting something in return (though the market for a QB who will turn 34 in October and comes with a somewhat hefty contract might not yield as much as wishful fans might envision).

Another factor: Smith is the only QB Seattle has under contact, because backup Drew Lock can be a free agent March 13.

Macdonald, intriguingly, said Monday on Seattle Sports 710 that he had talked in recent days to Lock and Smith, seeming to portray Lock as part of the team for now (and teams can re-sign their free agents at any time).

Lock made clear the day after the season ended that he would like a chance to play in 2024 after resigning himself to a backup role when he returned to Seattle in 2023. That seemed to signal that he wouldn’t return under the same scenario.

Seattle also doesn’t know which veteran QBs could be available in free agency.

And though the draft is always a crapshoot, all teams get a better feel for the market of draftees at the NFL scouting combine, which will be held Feb. 26-March 4. Seattle has the 16th pick in the first round.

All of which would seem to point to Seattle keeping Smith for now — as well as all of its options for the future.

[D-train]

MacDonald was given a 6 year contract. His job is to make a couple SBs and win at least one in that time.

He does not need to make the plays off this coming season. For that reason I think Geno is OUT.

[trharder]

I just feel like we will be stuck with him for at least one more year. JS is now in complete control and MM
is his frontman. It's a little interesting that MM says he talked to Drew Lock when Lock isn't even under contract.
But, if they were going to cut Geno, I don't know why they would have to wait until the deadline day to do it.

You don't see it on this group, but on FB and X, there's a surprisingly large amount of people that believe Geno
is really good and we should all be grateful he's on the Seahawks. I want to see them stamped out and go away.

[D-train]

I just feel like we will be stuck with him for at least one more year. JS is now in complete control and MM
is his frontman. It's a little interesting that MM says he talked to Drew Lock when Lock isn't even under contract.
But, if they were going to cut Geno, I don't know why they would have to wait until the deadline day to do it.

You don't see it on this group, but on FB and X, there's a surprisingly large amount of people that believe Geno
is really good and we should all be grateful he's on the Seahawks. I want to see them stamped out and go away.

I am praying to enjoy the spectacle of the Geno groupie melt down on X tomorrow!!!

[auroraave]

MacDonald was given a 6 year contract. His job is to make a couple SBs and win at least one in that time.

He does not need to make the plays off this coming season. For that reason I think Geno is OUT.

Seattle was 9-8 with this underachieving roster and a horrible defense. Just making adjustments on defense to get that unit near the middle of the pack should make this at least a 10 win team - they damn well better be competing for a playoff spot. SB run? Unlikely but playoffs are absolutely right there for the taking. Why would there not be playoff expectations? A missed FG against the Rams basically cost them a playoff berth. Hard to imagine going into the season with Lock or a rookie draft pick as the starter. I don't see it. Those options are way too risky. Right now Geno is your best bet - until he's not. I know there are folks thinking they are drafting Penix and he's gonna come in and run washingtons's offensive scheme with the same results - that is not going to happen.

I am praying to enjoy the spectacle of the Geno groupie melt down on X tomorrow!!!

What exactly do you have against Geno? That he's not Brady? I don't get the delight in shitting on players, I really don't. Is "Geno sucks' supposed to be some kind of 'hot take'? everyone on the planet understands his limitations. weren't you the guy banging the drum that Lock was gonna be the franchise QB? I seem to remember that pretty clearly. Are you still hoping for that?

[D-train]

Both of these elements of the story are interesting. If Lock won't return as a BU then why would MM waste precious minutes talking to him if the plan is to have Geno as the starter:

Macdonald, intriguingly, said Monday on Seattle Sports 710 that he had talked in recent days to Lock and Smith, seeming to portray Lock as part of the team for now (and teams can re-sign their free agents at any time).

Lock made clear the day after the season ended that he would like a chance to play in 2024 after resigning himself to a backup role when he returned to Seattle in 2023. That seemed to signal that he wouldn’t return under the same scenario.

[D-train]

MacDonald was given a 6 year contract. His job is to make a couple SBs and win at least one in that time.

He does not need to make the plays off this coming season. For that reason I think Geno is OUT.

Seattle was 9-8 with this underachieving roster and a horrible defense. Just making adjustments on defense to get that unit near the middle of the pack should make this at least a 10 win team - they damn well better be competing for a playoff spot. SB run? Unlikely but playoffs are absolutely right there for the taking. Why would there not be playoff expectations? A missed FG against the Rams basically cost them a playoff berth. Hard to imagine going into the season with Lock or a rookie draft pick as the starter. I don't see it. Those options are way too risky. Right now Geno is your best bet - until he's not. I know there are folks thinking they are drafting Penix and he's gonna come in and run washingtons's offensive scheme with the same results - that is not going to happen.

I am praying to enjoy the spectacle of the Geno groupie melt down on X tomorrow!!!

What exactly do you have against Geno? That he's not Brady? I don't get the delight in shitting on players, I really don't. Is "Geno sucks' supposed to be some kind of 'hot take'? everyone on the planet understands his limitations. weren't you the guy banging the drum that Lock was gonna be the franchise QB? I seem to remember that pretty clearly. Are you still hoping for that?

Its because I am a HATER!!!

Never said Geno sucks and never said Lock was going to be a franchise QB. But nice strawman again, definitely your specialty.

Yeah I can definitely see them shooting for the playoffs in year 1 but they may think they have a better chance at the playoff with Lock given similar production with more cap space to upgrade the trenches. Who knows but it is going to be fun to find out instead of the same ole same ole again. So refreshing especially with the staff they have created while gutting Alabama's offensive leaders. Could not have ended up better. Utopia. lol

[trharder]

What exactly do you have against Geno? That he's not Brady? I don't get the delight in shitting on players, I really don't. Is "Geno sucks' supposed to be some kind of 'hot take'? everyone on the planet understands his limitations. ou still hoping for that?

Are you really so special that you can't be bothered to take part in the poll?

[D-train]

What exactly do you have against Geno? That he's not Brady? I don't get the delight in shitting on players, I really don't. Is "Geno sucks' supposed to be some kind of 'hot take'? everyone on the planet understands his limitations. ou still hoping for that?

Are you really so special that you can't be bothered to take part in the poll?

Too focused on taking sophomoric jabs to bother to click a radio button I guess. lol

[auroraave]

MacDonald was given a 6 year contract. His job is to make a couple SBs and win at least one in that time.

He does not need to make the plays off this coming season. For that reason I think Geno is OUT.

Seattle was 9-8 with this underachieving roster and a horrible defense. Just making adjustments on defense to get that unit near the middle of the pack should make this at least a 10 win team - they damn well better be competing for a playoff spot. SB run? Unlikely but playoffs are absolutely right there for the taking. Why would there not be playoff expectations? A missed FG against the Rams basically cost them a playoff berth. Hard to imagine going into the season with Lock or a rookie draft pick as the starter. I don't see it. Those options are way too risky. Right now Geno is your best bet - until he's not. I know there are folks thinking they are drafting Penix and he's gonna come in and run washingtons's offensive scheme with the same results - that is not going to happen.

I am praying to enjoy the spectacle of the Geno groupie melt down on X tomorrow!!!

What exactly do you have against Geno? That he's not Brady? I don't get the delight in shitting on players, I really don't. Is "Geno sucks' supposed to be some kind of 'hot take'? everyone on the planet understands his limitations. weren't you the guy banging the drum that Lock was gonna be the franchise QB? I seem to remember that pretty clearly. Are you still hoping for that?

Its because I am a HATER!!!

Never said Geno sucks and never said Lock was going to be a franchise QB. But nice strawman again, definitely your specialty.

Yeah I can definitely see them shooting for the playoffs in year 1 but they may think they have a better chance at the playoff with Lock given similar production with more cap space to upgrade the trenches. Who knows but it is going to be fun to find out instead of the same ole same ole again. So refreshing especially with the staff they have created while gutting Alabama's offensive leaders. Could not have ended up better. Utopia. lol

You LITERALLY were banging the drum HARD that Lock was going to be the starter - that he was better than Geno - he was your choice from the get-go. Are you saying you did not take that position? Let's see if you'll answer that.