Geno Smith was the best QB move of 2022
10/26/22: Compared to every other trade or free agent signing, there isn't even another QB with a winning record
This week, both Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston were officially benched by their head coaches. Potentially both to-be-fired-and-this-is-my-last-resort-papa-roach head coaches.
What a situation for Pete Carroll to have avoided to keep himself off of the hot seat.
Practically every day of the offseason between trading Russell Wilson on March 8 and facing Russell Wilson on September 12 was spent discussing who the Seattle Seahawks should get to replace Wilson. For most, Geno Smith and Drew Lock were not acceptable answers.
Seaside Joe always found them acceptable. But only because Seaside Joe’s expectations were seaside low.
I was always very consistent with my take on the Seahawks quarterback situation, which is that Lock was the preferred option but that it didn’t really matter that much. Seattle’s first and only goal should be to not make any panic moves at quarterback. To not trade for Baker Mayfield, Matt Ryan, Deshaun Watson, or Jimmy Garoppolo. To not overpay Mitchell Trubisky, Marcus Mariota, or Jameis Winston.
To not think that there were any solutions available to them this year.
Silly me, the solution was the player who could have been had by any team in the NFL for a fraction of the cost of Mayfield, Ryan, Trubisky, Winston, and anyone else of note.
In 2020, the best move at quarterback was Tampa Bay signing Tom Brady.
In 2021, the best move at quarterback was the Rams trade for Matthew Stafford.
Both of those seemed obvious right away. I didn’t feel that strongly about any move at quarterback in 2022, except for maybe Denver’s acquisition of Wilson. That certainly felt like the deal that would have the greatest impact, even if I also felt that the Broncos were much worse off right now than the Bucs in 2020 or the Rams in 2021. It wasn’t a Super Bowl move.
Now it doesn’t even look like an Adequate Bowl move.
Instead, the best move at quarterback was surprisingly, miraculously, and shockingly Seattle’s decision to sign Geno Smith to a one-year deal worth up to $3.5 million, making him the cheapest starter in the entire league. One who currently leads the NFL in completion percentage and is top-five or top-10 in a lot of other key categories.
Consider how much better that value is than these values: