SEATTLE — The Seahawks will keep quarterback Geno Smith on the roster through the end of the week, which will fully guarantee his $12.7 million base salary, a source confirmed to The Seattle Times.
ESPN first reported Thursday that Smith had “been informed today” that he will remain on the roster and will collect the money.
Smith’s contract, signed last March, included a clause that if he remained on the roster through Friday that his base salary would become fully guaranteed.
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted, the move does not necessarily guarantee he will be the team’s QB in 2024.
“The Seahawks believed that, in today’s market, with salaries soaring for starting quarterbacks, the right decision was to pay the money, per sources,” Schefter wrote. “Now Geno Smith will represent a value to them — or any other team that decides to reach out to see if it can acquire Smith via trade. But Seattle now has locked in Smith, and Smith has locked in his $12.7 million.”
The next key date for Smith is March 18, when he will receive a bonus of $9.6 million if he is still on the roster. That date is five days after the beginning of the new league year and the free-agent signing period and after many trade options would likely be exhausted.
