He came back for a very team-friendly contract with incentives in 2023, then again in 2024 for the first year without Pete Carroll as head coach in Seattle since 2010. His numbers have not been bad since, but his QB Rating has fallen each season: 100.9 in 2022, 92.1 in 2023, and 90.5 in 2024. The Seattle Seahawks have, so far, been a 9-win outfit each of those years. This year’s figure ranks him 19th in the NFL this year… that’s Derek Carr territory .

You could blame some of this on the deterioration of the offensive line in Seattle: ranked bottom-5 in run-block win-rate (according to ESPN) and 2nd-worst in the league at allowing pressure (39.9% of drop backs). I think, however, the theme around Seattle over the last couple of years is frustration. Frustration at always being slightly better than average. Frustration at the same results over and over and over again. That consternated vibe carried Carroll out of the PNW and ushered in Mike Macdonald and his crew of cronies.

Mike Macdonald himself (partnered with John Schneider, no doubt) ha(ve)s been unafraid to let solid players go to seek the outstanding. Tyler Lockett got demoted, Stone Forsythe sat on IR, Zach Charbonnet finally got run, 6th and 7th round rookies (Sataoa Laumea and Michael Jerrell, respectively) were given a shot on the offensive line, Sam Howell was traded for, Darrell Taylor, Mike Jackson and Jerome Baker were all shipped out, Josh Jobe took Tre Brown’s job, Coby Bryant took Rayshawn Jenkins’ job, Riq Woolen was once again benched, and the Hawks’ leader in tackles (up until that point) in Tyrel Dodson was straight up cut. It’s a new era, and everyone has a shot to make some noise and prove something to the new head man. This isn’t just ho-hum try your best buds… every position will be evaluated.

I do believe that it is in the best interests of the team to bring back Geno Smith if you can get him on a relatively cheap contract. I mean, the man is 34 years old… a grandpappy in NFL eyes. Seattle already fired its offensive coordinator in Ryan Grubb, so a little continuity in another transition year couldn’t hurt. That’s also the reason I think the Hawks hire an experienced play caller this time around, but that may be an article for another day. Bring the offensive leader back at a figure that doesn’t break the bank, and if he can’t get it done, you have Sam Howell and hopefully some kind of draft pick as the contingency plans. You’ve got to believe all of the chemistry and good will Smith has banked in Seattle could lead him to offer a hometown discount at this point in his career as well. If the team around his is elite and cohesive next year, if he is not under constant siege in the pocket, he is a capable trigger man that knows his weapons.

Having that been said, let’s dive into the possible destinations that could beckon to Geno Smith, if the Seahawks ring of trust disagrees with me and wants to do a clean sweep. If Smith winds up parting with Seattle as a part of the next steps of the Mike Macdonald era (which Kenneth Arthur seems pretty convinced will happen), there should be demand for a capable passer. Maybe not from former teams in the Jets and Giants, but there will be a market for his services. Wherever he goes (especially be it in Seattle), I’ll wish him success.

In Alphabetical Order:

Carolina Panthers

• This is an absolute wild card to start with, but the QB coach for Geno during his breakout year is now the HC in Carolina. Smith could be very attracted to playing in a similar system that he found a lot of success in, proving that it’s his surroundings and not his age that’s responsible for regression. Los Panteras invested in the offensive line this past offseason, signing OG’s Robert Hunt and (former Seahawk teammate) Damien Lewis. Dave Canales know the value of this, as the team he just left his post as OC for (the Buccaneers) have the 4th-ranked line (according to PFN) going into Week 18. Think Smith disagrees with the Seattle GM’s stance on guards after this season of hell behind John’s joke of a line? This would also be the locale with the shakiest hold on the job, as Bryce Young has shown a bit of improvement late in the season.

Cleveland Browns

• What if there is a true competition with Deshaun Watson? Watson has been underreported as the worst trade of all-time… don’t give that to Russ! Watson has been bad, even despite Cleveland’s OL being 11th in pass block win rate, according to ESPN. Our guy G. would pray for line play that solid. The Browns chose the wrong guy, seeing Baker Mayfield (who they basically said wasn’t a grown up (lol)) advance to the playoffs with the Bucs once again. There are a couple of Seattle boys on the line there as well, and Cedric Tillman could come to life as a downfield threat once again. Divisional matchups against Russ, ladies and gentlemen?

Indianapolis Colts

• This one could make a lot of sense. Indy has a strong tradition of very good offensive line performance (something Geno should covet at this point in his career), stout defense and is chock-full with playmakers. Sounds like the kind of environment that Russell Wilson got at the start of his career! Ok, enough about him, this is #7 we are talking about. Anthony Richardson is physically astounding, but 38 out of 38 qualifying quarterbacks in QB Rating this year. That’s bad, and Shane Steichen is coaching for his job this year… Flacco ain’t gonna cut it.

Las Vegas Raiders

• Edit: Removed the New Orleans Saints here, replacing the Black and Gold of NOLA with the Silver and Black that now colors the desert. Pete Carroll is back and he will rise again! (Ok, maybe a LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO HOME there ) The man known to chew gum, rock Nike Monarchs and find elite DB’s everywhere he goes could look for a little help from one of his “all-time favorite guys“! The new head man of the Raiders is an enjoyer of savvy vet QB’s on cheap deals who can take care of the ball and rally the troops. Or cheap rookies… but the team may be too far off from the top of the draft to go the young route. G-Money rolling the dice down the seams in Sin City could bring some needed excitement to town.

Tennessee Titans

• The Titans finally benched the mayo man, Will Levis. There are a lot of similarities between the offenses and defenses of both Tennesse and Seattle, so the transition could be eased down in Cashville. The Seahawks even conducted joint practices with the Titans this past offseason, getting intimate with an opposing squad in a hostile environment. Coach Callahan brought his POPS in to help fortify the offensive trenches and may prefer a more traditional pocket passer than what he has in Levis.

You don’t want to go to these teams Geno, what can we do to make this thing work for one more year?!

It would be a treat to see Geno Smith back with a commiserate contract. We’ve seen him play at a high level, he can navigate pressure well, he is a respected leader and he’s still hungry. Worst case scenario, if Father Time has him in his clutches and his play sinks next year… maybe you roll with him until the wheels come off and put you in position to draft a young prospect. That or Sam Howell saves the day… J.J. McCarthy? Joe Milton??? One thing is for sure: Seattle won’t be able to properly evaluate the effectiveness of any quarterback until they fix the offensive trenches and blocking schemes.

Throughout last year’s NBA Season (switching to basketball… stay with me) we witnessed a team who not many saw as being one of the best at the beginning of the season, play some serious ball. This team rose up behind the ascent of a young, captivating player who took a leap from good to great. This player dominated all adversaries on the way to capturing our imaginations as well as the league MVP award. That team was the Milwaukee Bucks, and that player was Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks earned the top seed in their conference on the way to the playoffs, and hope for a title run abounded. Unfortunately for the state of Wisconsin, the Bucks lost to a lower seeded team before reaching the final stages.

Read that last paragraph again, because a very similar tale could be told of the 2019 Baltimore Ravens in this year’s NFL Season! There has been a constant parade of puff pieces and talk shows that have fawned over how incredible and unique Lamar Jackson’s season has been. The development of the Baltimore Ravens’ and Jackson’s dominant season was a prevailing storyline that we all followed all year. It was to the point where the prospect of them being in the Super Bowl seemed like a foregone conclusion. I personally made a point to watch as many Ravens games as I could to witness Lamar’s electric play. Lamar Jackson very well may be the future of the NFL. His 2019 regular season heroics and highlights will be something that many of us will always remember as somewhat of a sea-change. Much like the Bucks in last year’s NBA Playoffs, however, the Ravens in this year’s NFL Playoffs were defeated by a lower seeded team. This happened to both franchises despite the presence of the respective league MVP’s.

If this year’s Ravens are last year’s Bucks, then that makes Derrick Henry this year’s Kawhi Leonard!! He is the executioner of dreams, dynasties, hopes and storylines. We love (or love to hate) LeBron, Lamar, Brady, Mahomes, Russell and Zeke. Derrick Henry stood up and let his play do the talking: “Oh, you thought it was going to be about them…? Naw, you buckle-up and peep game. You’re gonna respect this whether you like it or not” {rough translation}.

The Titans upending the Patriots (who have won 3 of the last 5 Super Bowls) in the wildcard round of the playoffs was a statement game; but crushing the Ravens was a shocking revelation. Of course, like Kawhi Leonard on the Toronto Raptors, #22 got help. Tennessee has a head coach who brilliantly outcoached and embarrassed the great Bill Belichick. Not many may know that Titans QB, Ryan Tannehill was graded as the top QB in the league (Passer rating and PFF grade) in the 11 games he played in. Tannehill’s job was undoubtedly made easier by the threat of Henry, but he played well in his role. And you cannot forget that TEN has some dawgs on defense. But Henry makes it all gel. He is the titular titan of Tennessee. Nick Shook called the Titans “hungry and vengeful” and that is the perfect description, and it starts with Derrick Henry.

Henry is completely dominating everyone in his path. He seemingly gets 8 yards every time he totes the rock. He has more rush yards in the playoffs at this point in his career than any other human in the history of the league. He is the 2019 rushing yards leader and he turned into Thanos on a future HOF’er. That moment was not quite Bo Jackson against Brian Bosworth, but it was scintillatingly close. His historic playoff perform has launched his stardom to a new stratosphere. Some of the greatest RB’s in history couldn’t carry their teams on their backs like this.

Derrick Henry reminds us of the ability of certain moments in life (like sports) to crush any previous, long-held narratives that anybody wanted to believe or label you with. Those are beautiful moments in both sports and life. Like Kawhi did last year, Henry has unleashed in the playoffs the all-consuming fire that is his force of will. It looks like he has reincarnated the power and mystique of Beastmode.

Later today, the Kansas City Chiefs will want to air it out, strike fast and take Derrick Henry out of the game. They have the firepower to do just that, led by the still reigning NFL MVP in Mahome-dawg. Henry did have over 8 ypc against KC earlier this year (188 rushing yards and 2 tuddies) and has earned over 1,500 yds AFTER contact this season (including playoffs). Unlike basketball, in football one man can only do so much against a balanced and unified team… but he is bending those laws a bit before our eyes.

Henry had 182 on the ground against the Pats two weeks ago. That set a Titans playoff record, and was the most ever against NE in a playoff game in the Belichick era. Derrick Henry may be credited one day for ending the New England Patriots Dynasty – arguably the greatest dynasty in American sports history. When Henry scored the jump pass Tebow TD against Baltimore, that was when i felt this game was etched in history. It was iconic. That conjured memories of Adrian Peterson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson and great backs of the past who were the do-everything motors for their teams. He is going beyond just playing well… he has tacked on a grip of exclamation points to his playoff performances!!

No matter who wins the super bowl this year, Derrick Henry’s 2019 playoff coronation will be remembered. His foes next year will have it in the back of their minds each and every game. Y’all messed around and let him get in his zone, and he broke all of the ceilings. This is a bad dude, and you can doubt this dangerous killer if you want, but he has already shown us that he can reach heights that we’ve never seen. He doesn’t care about your nice little storylines. You will pay this man, and pay his game, attention.