Brady Hendersonmar 10, 2025, 08:29 PM ET
Close Brady Henderson is an NFL Nation reporter and covers ESPN’s Seattle Seahawks. He joined ESPN in 2017 after covering the Seattle Sports 710-AM team.
SEATTLE — When Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider asked questions at the Scouting Combine, his answer to one of them about future contract negotiations with Genosmith’s agents included a key qualifier.
“We hope he will become our man,” Schneider told reporters in Indianapolis. “But we want to do the right thing too,” he said.
After all, the team’s top decision makers had kept their doors cracked for what would become Blockbuster’s quarterback swap. It was completed Monday when the Seahawks traded Smith for the Las Vegas Raiders for the third round pick amid the collapse of extension talks on Friday, and agreed to sign a three-year, $105.5 million deal with free agent Sam Darnold.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Seahawks has given Darnold a $55 million guarantee, making it a big bet on their side that he’s better than Smith.
That’s an understandable risk.
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Smith has one of the NFL’s most talented and accurate weapons, just breaking his own single-season franchise record with a completion rate of 70.4%. He has led nine winning drives in the last two seasons, with a 27-22 record in the last three.
However, Smith is 34 years old and has moved up and down the past two seasons, ranking 21st in QBR in that range. He threw 15 interceptions last season, including League High 4 in the Red Zone. And while Coach Mike McDonald consistently promoted Smith’s toughness and work ethic, he also noted that there was room for improvement as a leader.
At 27, Darnold is seven years younger than Smith. He is also having a better year by leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 record in his only season as a starter. Darnold ranked 14th in QBR (60.4) – Smith (53.8)’s seven spots – on the way to the Pro Bowl.
But while Darnold may have long-term advantages over Smith, his struggle in the Vikings’ final two games, including an 11-sack blunder in a wildcard playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, may have seen his ceiling. And without a track record of sustainable success, there is a risk that he could become a year’s wonder now that he has left the only NFL environment where he excels.
Darnold has replaced Smith as Seattle quarterback after agreeing to a $105 million deal. Jeff Hanisch-Immagn Images
Darnold is widely regarded as a disappointment as the third pick of 2018, bouncing off the New York Jets to the Carolina Panthers and then to the San Francisco 49ers.
Darnold ranked 39th in QBR (42.1) in his first six seasons before thriving under the guidance of Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell. Also, the Seahawks traded DK Metcalf and released Tyler Lockett, so there’s no elite tandem the receivers they’ve been throwing in Minnesota.
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These moves and Smith trade came after the Seahawks released four other veterans as part of a critical purge.
Their roster looks dramatically different – especially in the offense – but the Seahawks have not intentionally stepped back in 2025 so that they can take two steps.
The Seahawks have done this under Schneider. What was considered an external reconstruction in 2018 – when they moved from some of their large boom stars, it instead brought the emergence of playoffs. The same thing happened in 2022 after they traded quarterback Russell Wilson and cut linebacker Bobby Wagner.
Whether that history repeats this season depends more on whether Schneider and McDonald have made the quarterback swap right.
