Lamar Jackson, Jimmy Garoppolo, Zach Wilson: Should Seahawks fans prepare for a new QB?

Geno Smith will talk to other teams, Seattle should be prepared to talk to other QBs: Seaside Joe 1455

Let me begin this post with a mission statement for the article:

The following newsletter about the impending quarterback carousel is not intended to suggest that the Seattle Seahawks acquire any of these players. It is not intended to implore Seahawks fans to want somebody other than Geno Smith. And it is not intended to disrespect Geno Smith or to counterpunch a potential quarterback loss with an equal or disproportionate quarterback value.

The intention of today’s article is to shed light on the 2023 quarterback market at a time when the entire Seattle media landscape and all of Seahawks fans are solely focused on the future and potential cost of one Geno Smith. This is a revelation of information, not an imploration of exploration: What else is out there?

It doesn’t hurt for Seahawks fans to be aware of the quarterback market because I guarantee that the front office has already been diligently exploring their options. For at least a year.

Though there was a lot of disagreement over Geno’s 2023 value during the season, I believe that at this point most Seahawks fans have come to accept a scenario without Geno because they’ve heard reports of $40-$45 million per year for him and Daniel Jones. Whether those reports are true (and I don’t see why they wouldn’t be because at this stage of negotiations, agents for Smith and Jones should be asking for the moon) and whether those quarterbacks come close to their demands is sort of inconsequential.

I’ve argued that the Seahawks simply can’t afford a quarterback franchise tag; even if you restructure Quandre Diggs’ contract, cut Shelby Harris and Gabe Jackson, trade Noah Fant, and extend Uchenna Nwosu, Seattle would still be cutting it close to afford the $32.4 million for Geno and their 2023 rookie class while committing more salary cap in the future and needing to replace quite a few outgoing starters.

And that’s just for a Geno Smith one-year rental…