Will Geno Smith be franchised by the Seahawks?

UPDATE: Seattle gave Smith a three-year extension worth $75 million, with $40 million guaranteed. He also has $30 million in incentives, so if he can continue to play at a high level, he should continue to be the starter. But, they have some wiggle room to move on from him sooner than later.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith experienced a career resurgence in 2022. After not being a starting QB since 2014, he led his team to a 9-8 record and a playoff appearance. Smith is set to become a free agent, but Seattle has no quarterback prospects waiting in the wings, giving them a reason to consider using a franchise tag on him.

Smith played in all 17 regular season games and set career highs in passing yards (4,282) and touchdowns (30) while throwing 11 interceptions. He is coming off a one-year deal worth a total of $3.5 million. The 32-year-old will be heading into his 10th career season in 2023.

NFL teams were able to start tagging players starting on Tuesday, February 21st, with a deadline of March 7th.

Will Geno Smith receive the franchise tag in 2023?

The cost to franchise tag a quarterback this offseason is $32,416,000. Smith played well in 2022, but he didn't play well enough to warrant a nearly $30 million pay raise. Especially with his age, the Seahawks could likely sign him to a much cheaper deal. Seattle should not use the franchise tag on Smith. Seattle has only used the franchise tag twice in the 13 years that the GM John Schneider and Head Coach Pete Carroll have been with the team. If they decided to pull the trigger and use it on Smith, his salary hit would account for 14.4% of the team’s salary cap, per The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar.